The Light in the Dark
by stclare36
Summary: Booth & Brennan and the Jeffersonian team are busy on a case leaving Sweets to investigate an "open and shut" case on his own. The situation changes however when the missing people turn up dead and a lost little girl is found in the closet. Will Sweets involvement in the case get him in over his head? Will help arrive in time?
1. Chapter 1

The Light in the Dark

I do not own Bones.

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><p>Season 9 or a Season 10 where Sweets didn't die but didn't very suddenly end up with a baby &amp; Daisy. Maybe this takes place after the swim coach dies, but without a conspiracy plotline that moved more interestingly into season 10…<p>

* * *

><p>"When do Cam &amp; Arastoo get back from their honeymoon?" Hodgins asked Angela as he slipped into her office.<p>

"Not for another couple of weeks." Angela said tapping away. "Gotta tell you, that was sure a surprise."

"Yeah, I mean I suspected something was going on with those two but wow." Hodgins said giving her a big eye.

"Well I guess I can see how they kept it quiet." Angela said. "Now that Arastoo's graduated and isn't an intern anymore I guess there's no reason for them to keep anything secret."

"We'll still get to see Arastoo, he's got a job here though he's going to be in another department. Nothing as exciting as around here!" Hodgins said.

"Yeah real exciting Jack, I'm scanning a gas receipt looking for printing on a thermal receipt for Booth & Brennan on a case they are working on." Angela said. "Real exciting."

"Well you never know, excitement can hit when you least expect it!" Hodgins gave Angela a playful slap on the rear as he headed out of the office. Angela shook her head but she couldn't help but smile.

"Dr. Hodgins!" Brennan called to Hodgins as he left Angela's office.

"Yes Dr. Brennan?" He asked approaching the platform after a quick scan of his card.

"I need you to scan and catalog these." Brennan said placing a large box in his arms.

"What are all these?" Hodgins asked eyeing the large box of evidence bags.

"They are all evidence from the case Booth & I are working on. They appear to have various stages of bug infestations in them." Brennan said appealing to his bug nature.

"All of these?" Hodgins whined. "This will take forever."

"Well Mr. Abernathy will not be able to come in till next week, and we do not have another intern available. Plus we are already short with Cam gone."

"Alright, hi-ho, hi-ho off to work I go." Hodgins said as he headed to his office.

"Exciting isn't it Jack?" Angela teased him from the hall.

"Yeah yeah." Hodgins said.

* * *

><p>"Hey Bones, yeah, how's it coming?" Booth said grabbing another cup of coffee. "Good, yeah, keep everyone working on it from your end. Yeah I'll come and get you, I think we should question him too. Yeah see you in ten."<p>

Booth hung up and poured the coffee in a to go cup from his mug. He saw Sweets eyeing him and had hoped he wouldn't see the psychologist this morning.

"Hey Sweets, what's up?"

"Nothing, nothing at all, not busy at all." Sweets said pouring a cup of coffee. "You sound busy though." Sweets sipped his cup. "Need some help, with this case?"

Booth was hoping to avoid Sweets on this one, he knew Sweets would offer help, it was the nice guy that he was but Booth didn't want him on this one, not this one.

"No Sweets, but thanks." Booth said and noticed as Sweets tried to hide the hurt with a smile. "It's complicated, but really, I've got it covered."

Sweets nodded and Booth felt bad. Booth didn't even want to broach the topic of the case with Sweets, too close to a secret few knew about Sweets.

"Sure, no problem." Sweets said and began to walk back to his office when Alfred Skinner came in, the administrative officer and Booth's go to boss for the time being came in.

"Booth, I've got a case for you." Skinner said, his bald head shinning in the florescent light.

Booth dropped his head. "Another case, I'm up to my ears in this one." Booth interjected. "What is it?"

"Missing persons." Skinner said.

"Missing persons?" Booth asked. "That's not FBI."

"It is when the missing persons are possible suspects in a meth ring." Skinner explained. "Look it should be quick, open and shut, half the leads are in the file."

Booth's ears perked up – he saw a chance to kill two birds with one stone. "Skinner, I'm thinking this would be a great case for Sweets."

"Who?" Skinner asked. Sweets stood at the other doorway, now completely deflated of confidence. Booth didn't have to see Sweets to know that wasn't what he wanted to hear.

"Agent Sweets!" Booth said walking over to grab Sweets.

"I thought he was a shrink or something." Skinner said.

"Yes, but he has agent status too. He's worked cases with me for years and he's been working leads on cases for the last few months. You not only get a great profiler but a hungry agent too!" Booth was selling Sweets pretty hard. If he got Sweets on the case then not only did he not have to take it but then Sweets would be busy while he closed the case he was working on and Sweets wouldn't have to be involved in it.

"Well…" Skinner said considering the option.

Booth offered a big smile and nod. "Sir, I wouldn't suggest anyone do a case that would be for me – except for Sweets, I trust him."

While Sweets was pretty sure Booth was pawning a case he didn't want off on the nearest living human he did consider Booth's last statement and realized while the other comments had been to get out of the case, the comment about trust did seem to be real and thus he felt better.

"Alright, it's pretty open and shut Sweets." Skinner said handing him the file and leaving the room.

Booth's phone rang. "Oh that's Bones. I gotta go." Booth rushed from the room and Sweets looked down at the folder he was holding – his very own case – all by himself.

* * *

><p>Sweets read the file front to back and resisted the urge to make a dozen or so lists and thoughts. He wasn't profiling he reminded himself, he needed to do more investigating first.<p>

First stop was the couple's apartment, a fairly nice place upstate. The couple had been of interest for large purchases of Sudafed and other popular meth products but then all of a sudden they dropped out of sight, didn't come to work, were never seen.

Sweets knocked on the door of apartment 414 with no answer. He waited and after a few minutes he knocked again.

"You want me to open it?" The super asked. Sweets nodded yes.

"When was the last time you saw them?" Sweets asked.

"I don't know, a few months ago, they pay their rent with direct deposit so I don't see them much." The super said looking for the key and having located it he opened the door.

The smell was overwhelming, immediate and familiar. Sweets pulled the door put as he and the super put their noses in their elbows.

"What the hell is that?" The super asked.

"I think we found the couple." Sweets said taking out his phone.

"You've got to be kidding me." The super said. "I'll never rent the place now."

Sweets called the FBI office and informed them what he had come across. They began to ask a number of details that he realized he didn't have. He opened the door to the apartment to gather more information. The smell was strong again but after a moment he was surprised how well he could stomach it. It didn't stop him from opening a window and letting in a nice breeze to release some of the putrid odor.

Soon Sweets found the source of the smell, two bodies in the kitchen, the woman had a gun in her hand, and a trail of blood from her temple the male had a shot in the chest. Sweets reported it as a murder suicide, he was told that techs would be on the way. Sweets looked around some, _open and shut alright _he told himself. _Definitely won't be seeing the Jeffersonian team, too much flesh and well, it seems to be solved. _Sweets looked around to see typical meth equipment in the loft. It was then Sweets heard it again, a small knocking sound, at first the thought it was nothing but he heard it again. He followed it around the quiet apartment, the breeze that was blowing thru rustled some papers and the smell was only a fraction of what it was before.

The tiny but persistent sound continued and Sweets wondered if it was just a knocking of an HVAC unit but something kept him searching. He wondered if it was that gut feeling Booth so often referred to. He narrowed the noise down to the hall closet and after listening a second knew it wasn't from a fan, it had inconsistencies. Realizing a possible danger he drew his gun and taking a breath he quickly pulled open the door.

A small scream came from inside as the small girl put her hand to her mouth. Sweets quickly pulled his gun back and got down to his knees to face the small girl, no more than six years old.

"It's okay, I'm sorry I scared you." Sweets said softly. "Are you okay? I'm Agent Dr. Sweets with the FBI." Sweets wasn't sure exactly what his title should be and he fumbled over it. He wasn't as interested in titles as he was the welfare of the small face he could see. Sweets gulped at the sight of the dark circles around the girl's sunken eyes and how her small frame shook.

"Are you cold, can I get you a blanket?" He asked trying to get the girl to warm up to him. "Have you been hiding in here long?" Sweets asked with an odd hope that was right.

The girl stared at him but took a second to peek outside to see if anyone else was there.

"I'm the only one here." Sweets said. "Your parents…"

"They're dead." The little girl said lightly.

"I'm sorry you had to see them." Sweets said.

The little girl shook her head. "They died a year ago."

Sweets looked to the bodies on the kitchen floor and knew they had only been there a few days, not months ago.

"How did you get in this closet?" Sweets asked the little girl who moved to the back of the closet. Sweets stomach began to sink as he began to get a clear picture of the little girl's life.

"Agent Sweets!" A voice shouted as the little girl crouched in the corner and began to shake more.

Sweets jumped up and greeting the techs with a finger placed on his lips to suggest they be quiet.

"What's going on?" One of them named Alex asked.

"There's a little girl in the closet." Sweets explained.

"Another victim?" The other tech named James asked.

"What? No, no. I just found her." Sweets explained.

"We'll need to call child services." Alex reminded him. Sweets had mixed feelings when it came to the agency known as 'child services.'

"Just give me a minute." Sweets said. "The bodies are over there, they're not her parents and she's terrified."

Sweets was anxious to get back to the little girl. As he turned to head back he saw a blanket on the couch and picked it up. He walked back to the threshold of the closet door and sat it down, he didn't want to get too close to the girl and scare her. Alex noticed and nodded, _smart move _he thought to himself. Little did Alex know how much about the little girl's mindset that Sweets was familiar with, and none of it had to do with being a psychologist.

"Here, if you want it." Sweets said nodding to the blanket. The little girl reached for it and then pulled her hand back still shivering. Sweets sat on the ground still several feet away. "You can come out whenever you want to okay? No one's going to make you or keep you in there."

"They do." The little girl said beginning to cry. "Since my parents went away they…they….I have to stay in here…I'm bad…I'm the reason they died!" The little girl began to sob catching Alex & James' attention.

"It's not your fault at all." Sweets said with extreme determination. "Don't think about what they told you, they were wrong."

"Are mommy & daddy really dead?" She asked.

"I don't know, but I promise you I will find out." Sweets said. "Would you like to come out?" Sweets said offering a hand to the little girl.

Sweets could tell she wanted to come out but she had grown so accustomed to her space, her cell that it had become home, a sad situation that happened to the captured.

"You look hungry, would you like something to eat?" Sweets offered. The little girl's eyes lit up but she was still too scared. Sweets was aware that Alex and James were listening so he scooted forward but not too close to the little girl.

"When I was little, your age, people, not my parents, they uh, they told me the same, that I was bad, and after, well, later they would lock me in the closet." Sweets said. Though the child was young he knew at that age, in that life, you learned quickly.

"What did you do?" The little girl asked as though swapping war stories.

"Same as you." Sweets said, the girl's eyes lighting up like she had been found out. "Nothing." He said. The little girl made a connection, knew she was understood and began to cry but scooted forward towards Sweets. Her tears became heavier and as she got closer to the light Sweets could see her far too skinny frame in the light and bruises on her skin – some new and some old. He was filled deep down with a rage that mirrored only his sorrow for her, for knowing that life.

"It's going to be okay." Sweets said. "See, I made it, I'm okay now."

The little girl believed him and when her small body couldn't hold her own weight she fell into Sweets arms. He wrapped the blanket around her and held her close and said very little. He often wondered what the social worker thought who found him in the closet over two decades ago thought and now he knew. His one relief now was that his suit case not stained with blood steaks, the way his social worker had been with his.

Alex & James stood silent in the kitchen wonder how the two monsters at their feet could have done something so harmful to such a precious little person. Sweets knew what they were thinking though he didn't make eye contact with them. It was the thoughts any normal person has, who can do such a thing? He only wished he didn't have so much insight.

* * *

><p>Child services arrived though the child wouldn't speak to anyone nor leave Sweets arms. A medic had arrived and was concerned with the little girl's malnutrition and cough. With some coaxing Sweets was able to get the little girl to sit on his lap while the medic checked her temperature and vitals. It was declared that she needed to go to the hospital and Sweets was glad she wasn't going to foster care immediately.<p>

"Agent Sweets we need you over here." Alex said on the case. The social worker looked at the paramedic.

"We do need to get her medical care." The social worker said.

"I know." Sweets said looking at the little girl. "Do you what my name is?" He asked her. She shook her head no. "My name is Lance. I'm going to make you a promise, I have to stay here and work some more but if you go with these nice people, they are going to get you better." The little girl began to shake her head no before Sweets finished. "And I promise that as soon as I am finished here, I will come and see you." The little girl didn't look like she wanted to agree. "I promise you, I won't let anything like this happen to you again okay? And I think these people here will do the same." Sweets looked at them as they began to agree. They knew the stakes here, they knew the issue and they wanted to help the little girl.

"You promise? Nothing bad happen to me?" The little girl asked.

"I promise." Sweets said. "And I promise to come and see you as soon as I'm done here. I'll be around until we find you a good place to stay, nothing like this _ever _again."

The social worker noted that unlike other agents Sweets seemed extremely dedicated.

"Abby." The little girl said. "You're Lance, and I'm Abby."

"I'm glad to meet you Abby." Sweets said almost getting choked up.

"You promise." Abby reminded him.

"I have an idea." Sweets said taking his watch off and handed it to the little girl. "This was my father's watch, not the bad one, but the good dad. This is very important to me, it's the only thing I have left of his. So I want you to keep it, for now, until we find you a new home, that way you know I'll be back."

While the little girl seemed pretty sure that Sweets would keep his promise she was sold at the sight of the watch. It wasn't like other ones she'd seen with numbers, this one had a moon and sun and arms and funny letters like in a story book. The little girl nodded and while still reluctant, went with the new people.

Once she was gone Sweets stood up with a sigh.

"You were really good with her." Alex observed.

"I'm a psychologist, it's what I do." Sweets said not wishing to divulge the other reasons he was good at it.

"I thought you were an agent." James asked.

"One in the same. You said you had something?" Sweets asked.

"Yeah, we've got some pretty standard meth stuff here but that's not what's so weird." Alex said.

"Okay, what is?" Sweets asked.

"These two people aren't the same ones who are registered as living here. These two are Carol and Steve Livingston." Alex said pointing to the bodies. "The couple registered here are Sal and Grace Paxton. And from the quick check I just did, neither of them have a little girl."


	2. Chapter 2

2.

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><p>Sweets was feeling tired by the time Alex and James had removed the bodies and the rest of the meth evidence was carefully collected from the apartment. Sweets had made several calls but found only what he already knew - the apartment was rented to an elderly couple, Sal &amp; Grace Paxton. Their rent was drawn from a checking account, their social security and pensions were automatically deduced, no extended family so no one noticed they had been gone. Sweets reported them as missing for now and concentrated on their current deceased pair - Carol &amp; Steve Livingston as identified by their drivers licenses and the couple they suspected in the meth ring. Sweets imagined the possibility that this couple murdered the elderly couple and continued to live rent free. How the little girl came into the situation he wasn't sure but was going to be a large focus of his investigation. He didn't want to fill the little girl with expectations her real parents may be alive or possibly that they were out there but terrible parents.<p>

Sweets rubbed his head in the room where the sun began to set. It was quiet now that everyone was gone. The apartment seemed to be filled with the worst parts of humanity - murder and child abuse, laced around the outside with drugs made from cleaning products. He hoped the little girl could be saved, truly saved and her life improved from here on, like his had, but it hadn't been an easy road. He looked to the open door of the closet and examined it. The bottom of the door had scratches though not deep. He crouched down to look at them, and lined his fingers up with them. By doing so he was inside the closet door. The light scratches made him think that while she scratched at the door it must not have been very loud.

The little girl, Abby, had bruises and faint scars. He could imagine the doctors and nurses discussing at the hospital 'how could anyone do such a thing'. He knew because he overheard them as a kid himself. He sat down in the closet knowing it was a bad idea but he wanted to remember for a moment what it was like. He pulled the door shut and sat in the dark, in the silence and remembered. _It's fine Lance, it won't bother you, you're past this. _He told himself the same thing over and over but after a few moments the realization wouldn't set in and he scrambled to his feet to get out. Only the door wouldn't open. Sweets bordered between feeling stupid and feeling a panic attack coming on. He had checked the door and it wasn't locked but it wasn't opening either. He pushed on the door, harder then harder. He could feel dust falling on him, loosened from the frame and dark space above. One final shoulder push into the door and the jam released and Sweets fell into the room. The dust made him sneeze and he brushed the powder off him and thought idly he was glad no one was in the room.

_Great idea Lance _he chastised himself and seeing the sun now setting knew he should get to the hospital to see Abby.

* * *

><p>"She's right this way." The nurse said. "I'll get the doctor for you."<p>

Sweets headed to the room but met the social worker Ava outside the door. Had Sweets not been so busy thinking of his misadventure with the closet door or worrying about Abby he may have noticed how beautiful Ava was, in that cute and mousey way.

"Dr. Sweets?" Ava asked. "Or is it Agent Sweets?"

"Either is fine." Sweets said looking at Abby on the hospital bed with an oxygen feed in her nose.

"I'm Ava Gardner." She said holding out her hand for a shake that eventually Sweets noticed. "I'm the new worker assigned to the case."

"Yeah, I thought you looked different from the woman earlier." Sweets said taking in a minor note of her pretty features but was instantly sidetracked. "She still looks pretty pale."

"Yes, I've been here with her." Ava explained. "Here comes the doctor, he can explain better than I can."

"Yes, I'm Dr. Vitter." The doctor said introducing himself.

"She looks pretty pale still, was she dehydrated?" Sweets asked.

"Yes, she was. In addition to that she has a few scars and bruises which is concerning but for right now I'm most concerned with her overall condition." The doctor said quickly gaining Sweets attention and drop in Sweets stomach.

"What do you mean?" Sweets asked.

"At first I attributed her condition to the malnutrition and the dehydration, possibly other issues from her abuse. However I'm not able to pinpoint what is ailing her most. She has a temperature and a difficulty breathing. I'm keeping her here for observation for now until we can find out more. I assure you we are working on this diligently."

Sweets nodded and wondered what might be bothering the child. He thought about asking Brennen to look in on it, maybe Hodgins but he knew these doctors would do what they did best. The doctor promised to keep him updated on her progress and left. Sweets reached for the door to go in but Ava stopped him.

"Where are you going Dr. Sweets?" Ava asked.

"I promised Abby I would come by." Sweets said.

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about." Ava said stopping him. "I know this little girl has connected with you but soon you will be off this case and gone, I'm worried how this will affect this child."

"Ms. Gardner." Sweets said annoyed. "Wouldn't you say the same thing about _your _role in this case?"

Before she could come up with an answer Sweets slipped in the door and was by the child's side. She was weak and tired but she was still happy to see him. He saw the watch on her arm as Ava came in.

"I'm keeping your watch safe." Abby promised him then she looked sad. "Do you want it back now?"

"No Abby, you keep it, I'll be around awhile longer." Sweets said eyeing Ava. "I'm not going anywhere just yet."

Ava sighed but smiled at Abby who looked at Ava.

"I like Dr. Sweets." Abby said.

"I know Abby, and that's fine." Ava assured her.

"I like you too, but you're kind of fussy." Abby told her and Sweets tried not to laugh.

"Well you'll have to work on her won't you?" Sweets asked her and Abby almost smiled.

Ava looked like she wanted to say more but she noticed the way Sweets & Abby interacted was unique, they seemed to have a connection, she thought maybe she would let the issue go of Sweets being as involved as he was.

"You look tired Abby, how about I come back tomorrow?" Sweets asked.

"You look tired too." Abby said. "Let me see, you can come back at…" Abby was looking at the watch. "Eight o'clock."

"Okay, eight o'clock it is." Sweets promised and slipped out the door. He wondered why he was feeling so tired but he figured it had been a long day.

* * *

><p>The night wasn't an easy one for Sweets when the cough started around two in the morning and would hardly cease. What started as a dry cough developed into a deeper wet cough. He had finally managed to drift off somewhere around the time he was set to get up at six and thus overslept until eight.<p>

Sweets eyes widened as the red numbers of the alarm clock taunted him with the late hour. He shouted a profane word for poop and got up from the bed quickly. The suddenly shift from horizontal to vertical made his head spin and chest ache some. _Ugh, I really can't handle the flu right now _Sweets said trying to shake it off. He lamented the fact that when he got home last night he went straight to bed and didn't take the time to shower or even change clothes. While that sounded appealing right now he had little choice but to change suits and rush out the door.

* * *

><p>Abby was sitting on the bed looking deflated as Sweets arrived. A small smile came to her face as he walked in the door.<p>

"I'm very sorry I'm late Abby." Sweets said trying to suppress a nasty cough that wanted to expel.

"I thought you forgot about me." Abby said.

"No, it was very bad of me to be late." Sweets sat in a chair next to her. He wanted to be honest with the child, the way he wanted people to be honest with him at that time. "I didn't mean to, but I overslept."

"Are you not feeling good?" Abby asked. "You look like you are sick."

Sweets smiled at the little girl's perceptiveness because he did indeed feel like crap. He was hot one moment and cold another, his chest hurt and his eyes sometimes burned.

"Yes, I might be. I won't get too close incase it's the flu." Sweets said.

"It's okay, I used to get sick a lot. When I lived…there."

"It's probably because those people didn't take good care of you." Sweets said thinking of the little girl's malnutrition. "Can you tell me anything you remember - about coming to live there?"

Abby got very quiet. "No, I've been there a long time. Sometimes I remember Mommy & Daddy. I miss them."

"Do you remember their names?" Sweets asked when Ava came in.

"Ah Dr. Sweets, I'm surprised to see you here… so late." Ava said hissing but then felt bad when he turned to face her. She could tell he was obviously under the weather and thus most likely his reason for being so late.

"Yes, I feel very bad about that." Sweets said but Abby seemed over it.

"Yes, uh, well you shouldn't be asking Abby questions without myself here." Ava reminded him.

Sweets was trying not to be annoyed by the pretty social worker who was obviously new to her job. Abby beat him to the comeback however.

"It's okay Ava, Sweets knows what it's like to live with bad people." Abby informed her. The social worker felt even worse now and Sweets felt embarrassed that Abby had shared that with her. Before yesterday only a half dozen people knew the truth about Sweets childhood and that seemed to be expanding more rapidly than he cared for.

"Can I call you Sweets? I like that more than Lance." Abby asked completely oblivious to the bomb she had dropped.

"Sure, everyone does." Sweets said now uncomfortable that Ava had a glimpse of his life he hadn't planned to share with a random stranger. He had done it to win Abby's trust to remove her from a bad situation, not for her to share with everyone she met. His head hurt trying to come up with a way to get her to stop. He could only come up with one solution - _retreat _he told himself.

"Well, I should get going." Sweets said. "But I will be back later. I'm going to see if I can't find out more about where you belong."

Abby smiled and Sweets was sure not to promise much more than that. Sweets headed to the door and Ava told Abby she would be right back.

"Dr. Sweets wait." Ava said walking out the door behind him. _No, no no _Sweets said to himself, he didn't want to discuss his life with her. "Dr. Sweets I should apologize. I haven't been very nice to you. I thought you were just another hot shot agent looking to get a big Atta boy from your boss." Sweets softened at her somewhat apology. "I see that you do care, so I'm sorry."

Ava held out a hand as though calling a truce and Sweets shook it.

"Thank you, and I do care." Sweets said but was anxious for the conversation to not go into his childhood. "But I should be going, I'd like to find out more about who she is and who her parents are."

"Sure, but shouldn't you get some rest? You look awful. I mean, not awful, you're very attractive, I mean, I didn't mean to say that, not that it's not true, but it's not…." Ava reddened with each misspoken sentiment and Sweets resisted an urge to smile as he noticed how much prettier she was becoming now that she wasn't annoying him so much.

"Thanks, I think it's just a cold or something. I'll be fine." Sweets said sparing the woman any need for any more confusion.

"Dr. Sweets?" Ava said stopping him once more. "I'll talk to Abby, I'll let you know if I find out anything from her."

"Thank you." Sweets said grateful for some help on the case. Ava went back to the room and Sweets had the sudden urge to get out of sight. He charged into the bathroom in time for an intense coughing fit to come on, one so serious he coughed hard enough to throw up. After a few minutes he stood but, ignored the dizzy spell and hot flash that came over him. By the time he walked to the sink he felt like he was freezing and he knew this wasn't a good sign and was angry that this year's flu shot was going to fail him. He washed his hands and face, ignored the pale color of his face and knew he should go home. But if he did that, Abby would spend more time in a hospital than maybe back with her parents, if they were out there looking for her. Sweets decided to head to his office - from there he could make calls and not expose anyone to his flu.

* * *

><p>Sweets reached his office pretty quickly. He wondered if it was because of the fact he obviously looked under the weather - and no one wanted to catch what he had but then he realized a slightly sadder fact, most of the time people did avoid talking to him. He figured it was because he was a shrink and they thought he would analyze them while they visited with him, even outside a session. Some people had told him this, others still had issue with the balance between his young age and his profession and thus taking him seriously.<p>

At the moment though Sweets figured it was for the best and was glad to not be bothered. He opened up the folder that waited him with the results of what Alex and James had come up with at the scene. Most was nothing new, meth chemicals, a few other chemicals on hand though not generally used for meth he was curious about the purpose for their presence in the apartment.

Several inquiries to the missing tenants brought no results and but by lunch Sweets had some information on Carol and Steve Livingston. While he had some information on them before on the original case file he did find out that three months before the couple had been seen around the neighborhood however never with the child. Sweets deduced that they must have locked Abby in the closet each time they left, a thought that made his stomach clench and dismissed the last remaining notion of lunch.

Sweets decided perhaps the best solution at the moment was to lay on his couch and close his eyes, doze off a few moments and come up with a great plan. As he stood up his body ached though he had only sat at his desk for the morning, it wasn't like he was doing heavy lifting. He dismissed the groggy feeling and lay on the couch. As his head touched the arm rest his phone rang. Sweets groaned as he reached for the cell and glanced at the caller ID. The unknown number appeared suggesting it was either a wrong number or something about the case.

"Dr. Sweets, it's Ava." _It's the case _Sweets said to himself and sat back up, heading to his desk to find something to write on. "I talked to Abby. It took a while but about a year ago she started to live with the two people you found. She couldn't call them by name, just 'them'." Sweets knew the little girl had long since tried to disassociate herself with 'them'. "She doesn't remember what happened to her parents or how she came to live with them. Does that sound correct?"

"It's not surprising. It may have been traumatic and she doesn't want to remember." Sweets suggested and considered something tragic may have happened to her parents causing the condition.

"Okay, well she said they used to drive around a lot, live in a lot of different places until they started to live there a few months ago. She said she always stayed in the apartment, never left and didn't ever see anyone else there. I hope that's helpful."

"Yes!" Sweets assured her. A lot of it wasn't immediately helpful but it gave him a clearer picture of her life as of recently. "How is she doing? Did the doctors figure out what is wrong with her?"

"No, they're calling in a few specialists who will check on her pro bono. One of them is the leading cardiologist in the nation." Ava said hopeful.

"Good, please let me know how it goes." Sweets said and hung up before Ava could ask him any other questions.

_A little girl shows up three months ago while the people she is living with make meth after leaving two missing tenants who didn't leave on vacation. _Sweets mulled it over in his mind that felt like a swollen blister. He wanted to go home and go to bed, but Abby's face, the yearning for a connection with someone haunted his mind.

His mind drifted back to when he was found, in a closet, dried blood down his back, a confused cop standing over him.

"Hey Buddy." The cop said to. "Let's get out of there."

Sweets shook his head, confused by the bright light. He could feel the officer pull his arm, the oversized tee covered his bruised arm, the officer didn't realize he was offering more harm than good by pulling on the injured arm. Five year old Sweets had twisted to get away from the beating, leaving his arm raw and bruised.

"Why do you want to stay in the closet?" The officer asked confused and frustrated.

"I don't!" Sweets shouted as tears rolled down his cheek. The officer looked at the child with hurt eyes, so small and thin, pale, weak and beaten. "I don't want to go back in."

The small child swayed on his feet but he pulled away from the officer whose grip was unknowingly too tight.

"How about we leave here okay?" The officer asked.

Sweets in present day thought back to that officer with all the good intentions. He knew he hadn't been versed in such a situation. He was only called to the house on a domestic dispute, once the foster father was in cuffs and the strung out wife stared off into space did the officer question why such a large lock was on the closet door. He would want to help the little boy inside and while Sweets was then, as now, forever grateful for him to turn the lock and open the door, it was scary the moment he did. Sweets knew Abby had the same fears when he opened that door yesterday, and he hoped he hadn't caused the confusion he had felt.

"How about we both leave here - and never come back." The officer said as Sweets recollection played on. Young Sweets swayed again and the promise sounded wonderful.

"Yes please." Sweets said in a near whisper as the too small child passed out in the officer's arms.

Sweets cleared his throat as the memory faded away. He thought of his own Ava, an older woman social worker, Emily was her name. His first question to her when he woke up was if he had to go back. She had the same look the officer had on his face, one of anger with the world and sadness of the boy she saw.

"No. You're never going back there. I will promise you that."

Sweets smiled as she was right, he didn't have to go back there, anywhere for a while until he was well enough to leave the hospital. He never saw the officer again though he long since suspected he had asked Emily about him. Still Sweets would have liked to have seen him again, to have said thank you or at least goodbye. Maybe Ava didn't understand that, despite her job, but he did.


	3. Chapter 3

3.

Booth had a dilemma - he needed help with the case, shrink type of help with the case. Sweets office was minutes away with an abundance of knowledge that would help - too much knowledge about this sort of case. _What people do to children I'll never understand _Booth said looking down at the case he had been working on, a case he wanted to avoid bringing to Sweets. _The kid cares too much, and this kid, he's too much like him, Goth kid who was beat as a kid, then pushed around, killed by someone. It's just not right. _Booth picked up the file folder and headed down the hall towards Sweets office. He could hear a cough coming to an end as he stood at the door.

"No sir I'm still here, yes just a little cold coming on." Sweets was telling who he was on the phone with. "You were saying that Carol Livingston worked for you, when was that?"

Booth liked hearing Sweets working his own case. He imagined it as a small case with a couple of small time drug dealers and Booth though he sounded sort of cute acting all professional. Sweets coughed again and apologized to the person he was speaking with. Booth wondered if he should inquire about it, then he considered if Sweets was sick and still working a case then his plate was pretty full. He looked at the file again and decided to check with another profiler, one without a dark and hurtful past a case like his would bring up.

* * *

><p>"So you let her go because she was stealing from your company?" Sweets asked pulling out the list of chemicals not used in meth. "Can you tell me what she was stealing?"<p>

The angry former employer of Carol Livingston listed off two of five mystery chemicals on the list. The man explained that he figured out too late she wanted the job just so she could get access to quantities of chemicals for her outside business. He hadn't seen her since he fired her two months ago. Sweets thanked him for his time and was curious about why these other chemicals were present if not for meth.

Sweets picked up the phone and dialed a familiar number. Soon Angela picked up her cell but Sweets was met with a crying child.

"Angela?" Sweets asked.

"Yeah, hey Sweets." Angela said taking the phone from the toddler.

"I wasn't expecting Michael to answer." Sweets explained.

"Yeah he was sick at daycare so I had to come home and pick him up. What's up?"

"Oh, so you're not at the lab?"

"No, why?"

"Oh, nothing I was going to see if you guys could find something out about some chemicals."

"Well I can when I get back, but it might be a couple of days." Angela explained as she continued to try and comfort a sick toddler.

"Oh, not that's okay, I'll figure it out." Sweets wished her luck and good health and hung up. He pondered the fact that he had very little help from the Jeffersonian on this, something he hadn't expected.

_Oh well, that's what Google is for, _Sweets said to himself rubbing his tired eyes and coughing again. His chest had begun to ache from the constant deep and harsh cough but he had work to do. He waited for results to come up and decided to text Ava to see how Abby was doing. The answer soon came back 'not any better' wasn't the response Sweets wanted to get.

Sweets could have called the FBI's office for such things but he know the answer to his question would have been preceded by a series of remarks about why a shrink was solving a case or cracks about his age - all leaving him with a desire to get help from no one, he would do this by himself. And Google.

After discovering that indeed the internet was a wealth of information he found that the five chemicals found in the apartment could be used to a rather popular and new although particularly dangerous to make form of amphetamines. No doubt the pair wanted to increase their income dramatically on the production, all the while placing Abby in a great deal of danger. The last fact made Sweets the most angry.

The case had many questions but Sweets tired mind was making it hard to concentrate on very many of them. Seeing that it was five Sweets decided to fulfill his promise and go by and see Abby before going home and promptly falling fast asleep. As Sweets closed his office door he heard Booth's voice down the hall stopping to ask someone if Sweets was in. Sweets looked the other way to the stairwell exit the back in the direction Booth was going to be coming from. He quickly headed for the exit, avoiding his agent friend.

Booth though he heard some noise coming from the stairwell but instead walked into Sweets office. After calling his name he realized Sweets was nowhere in the office. Booth wasn't satisfied with the responses he got from the other profiler and sensed Sweets would have done a better job. So while Booth had wanted to protect Sweets from the atrocious case too close to Sweets on adolescence, he knew that he needed his expert opinion. Due to this, Booth finally laid the case file on Sweets desk and picked up a post it to write a note asking him to look at the case when he had time. From what Booth knew of the case Sweets was working on - it was a simple open and shut case so he worried little of what Sweets was doing or the time it would take. His curiosity was piqued however when he saw the list of rather potent chemicals Sweets had on a list on his desk. He recalled the mention of meth and supposed a guy like Sweets was doing his homework. He left the case and the note and turned off the light when he left.

* * *

><p>Sweets arrived at the hospital looking very tired and weary. He waited an hour until he could see Abby and in the meantime nearly fell asleep in the waiting area while they ran more tests. By the time they were done Abby emerged but she looked far worse than before. Ava had gone home for the day so Sweets asked the doctor for an update.<p>

"I don't know what it is to be honest." The doctor explained. "We've run dozens of tests but something is definitely attacking her immune system."

"From what we have gathered she was often on the move, she could have been exposed to a dozen or so different elements." Sweets said half to himself and half to the doctor.

"Have you found out anything more than can help us?" The doctor asked Sweets with much hope in his voice. "Anyone who knows if the child has a health concerns?"

Sweets felt like a failure for having found so little so far. He shook his head and the doctor nodded.

"Well thank you for trying." The doctor said in all honesty but it did little to make Sweets feel better and the oncoming cough did little to help. "My that's a nasty cough, have you gotten it checked out?"

"No, not yet." Sweets said. "I'm guessing it's the flu."

"Well if it is I will advise you not to see the girl, it could worsen her condition." Though the doctor meant the best Sweets felt again like a failure who was getting nowhere fast. "I will tell her you came here and why you can't see her." The doctor promised and Sweets nodded in acknowledgement. "You should get some rest." The doctor said heading back to Abby's room, leaving Sweets alone in the hall.

Sweets looked in at Abby who was being tended to by a room full of nurses and doctors. He wanted to be there too but seeing how she was he was ignited with a desire to get back to work, sleep would have to wait.

* * *

><p>Sweets knew heading to the office wasn't going to yield any more results from phone calls so he decided to head back to the crime scene, look for any clues he had yet to discover before.<p>

It was past 8 at night and though he knew he should eat his symptoms hindered the ability for anything to be appetizing. _You're not going to get over this cold if you don't take care of yourself _a voice in the back of his head said to him, a voice that probably belonged to his late adoptive mother. _Later _he promised himself, after he helped Abby and the case was solved.

Sweets opened the door and ducked under the crime scene tape. He pondered how the neighbors must love seeing that tape on the door. He figured it was a sort of karma for not noticing the fact that the older couple that lived there had been missing for months. For a second he thought he heard a noise in the apartment, some rusting of a sound but he found nothing so he went on about his work.

Sweets looked over the kitchen where the bodies had been found and the meth lab had established it's place of business. He noticed a dusting on the surface that he had not seen before when James & Alex cleaned up the crime scene. He left the dusting alone and walked around the apartment more, feeling more and more tired with each step. He knew he needed more, to find more. For a moment he considered calling Booth but recalling the agent's reluctance to take this case he knew he must be busy. He could also hear Booth chiding him about needing help on his first case solo - _NO! I can do this _Sweets reminded himself and pushed on.

He went thru the closets of the bedroom and noticed that most of the clothes were that of an older couple. The drawers seemed to be full of clothes of the younger couple. Sweets pondered how this younger couple managed to squat in these people's home. They used what they needed, didn't clean up anything and had ransacked thru what they wanted and tossed aside what they didn't. A small feeling filled Sweets that he didn't recall it being quite the mess it was now, it was almost as though someone had sifted thru the place looking for something, sort of like he was doing but like that person was in more of a hurry. Still none of the clothes nor papers he went thru gave him any indication of where the older couple went to nor where the younger couple came from and thus Abby's past.

Sweets went back to the main room and looked at the closet where he had found Abby, the one he had managed to lock himself into earlier. Not anxious to get dusty again he preferred to avoid the closet but he was curious, a curiosity that compelled him towards it. He opened the door and the swirl of dust filled the air again. Sweets looked up at the closet with a surprisingly low ceiling for an apartment with such tall ceilings. He saw that the ceiling had a latch and a board and realized the space had been used as storage, probably for holiday stuff or old mementoes to be hidden away. He didn't have a flashlight but he turned on the hall closet and grew excited at the prospect that he might find some old papers stashed away that the young couple may not have found, something to lead him to a clue, any clue. Sweets reached up and pulled the latch back, it was met with more resistance than he had thought and wondered why briefly until the answer came in the response of two skeletal bodies dropping down around him. Sweets rushed to the side though he and the room were covered in the same dust as before. He coughed as it seemed entered his lungs, his eyes opened to see the dust settling. When it cleared he found two very obvious answers - the whereabouts of the missing elderly couple - who lay now in bone form before him - and where the younger couple stashed their new and more potent drug they were manufacturing.


	4. Chapter 4

4.

Sweets looked at the pile of bones that now lay on the floor, covered in a layer of remain dust and covered with more dust from the drugs that had spilled from their containers. Sweets was swatting at the air trying not to breath it all it which was impossible. As he stepped back he heard a rustle and tried to clear the particles from his face and air to see where it was coming from. He opened his eyes wide enough for just a moment to see a figure run past him and out the door.

_Damn, I knew I heard someone when I came in _Sweets said to himself knowing now why he felt like he was being watched. The case felt a bit more complicated as he ran to the door only to look down an empty hallway where no one was present, whoever he was – he was long gone. Sweets looked back to the new evidence and took out his cell phone.

Alex and James arrived a half hour later giving Sweets time to go to the sink and wash some of the debris from his face though he could still feel it itching at his scalp and down the collar on his neck. His hands started to itch no matter how many times he washed them. He hoped a good shower would solve the problem but that would have to wait until the scene was secured, the remains removed.

"Agent Sweets." Alex said announcing his arrival. "I see we missed some evidence." He offered it as somewhat of a joke but Sweets wished he had found the bodies the first time around.

"Yeah, I wish so too." Sweets said thinking of Abby and her waiting around but his deep and painful cough flared up again causing him to have to grab the counter for support. When Sweets finished he was surprised to see James at his side, a worried look on his face.

"Are you okay Dr. Sweets?" James asked. "That sounds pretty bad, we can call another agent to the scene if you are sick."

Sweets didn't trust another agent to be quick about helping Abby. "No, no, it's fine." Sweets lied, his chest felt like an incredible anvil was crushing it. He wanted a moment to compose himself so he motioned to the bathroom off the bedroom. "I'm just going to splash some water on my face."

James nodded as Sweets headed to the room and quickly closed the door, ignoring the fact that the quick movement made him feel dizzy and nauseous despite his completely empty stomach. _Maybe if you eat something it will stop _Sweets said to himself though again – no food sounded appealing. _What kind of flu is this? _Sweets wondered to himself in regards to the strange symptoms, he couldn't quite shake it off and out of habit opened up the medicine cabinet taking out a bottle of aspirin and popped a few. _Wait, did I just take a few pain killers from the medicine cabinet of known drug dealers? Oh boy. _Sweets looked at the bottle again which appeared legit and put it back on the shelf. The bottle next to the one he placed on the shelf caught his attention. At first glance they were all routine bottles but the neighbor container was that of drops with the usual type of printing that is printed on the plastic container. The flap of a paper label caught his attention. Sweets turned the bottle to see it was a prescription label placed over the back. His eyes continued to go bleary and straight again, another symptom his ignored as his excitement grew from the name that was appearing on the label, Abigail Barker. Sweets had a name.

Quickly he pocketed the bottle and left the bathroom when a thought occurred to him – what child carries around her own prescription? Most likely it was packed in a bag, maybe an overnight bag when she could have been taken. Sweets went back thru the piles of items left in the apartment with a renewed energy despite the fact his body ached and hated him for his every movement and breath he inhaled.

Sweets didn't realize nearly an hour had gone by when he found a small pink bag buried in the back of a closet. He had hoped to find a name on the bag, he was holding out hope for an address but found none on it. He did however find a change of clothes inside and a shirt in the bottom of it that advertised an event on the front, a benefit walk that had taken place a year before. Sweets hoped the combination of the girl's name and the shirt would yield him a result on where the girl was from.

"Dr. Sweets?" James asked from the door. Sweets stood up, the shirt and bag still in hand. "We're finished here."

Sweets felt surprised they had worked so quickly when he looked at his watch to see over an hour had gone by.

"We've got all the pictures of the crime scene we can send them to you digitally. We'll have the remains sent over to the Jeffersonian tomorrow, there will be no one to receive them this late, unless you think it's a priority." Alex added.

"No, tomorrow is fine. I'm sure we know who the remains belong to." Sweets said thinking it thru. "Thank you both for working so late." Sweets walked out of the room into the main room where indeed the bodies and dusty substances were bagged and tagged. "You might put a note that some of those particles are most likely amphetamine substance the pair was making here."

"Besides the meth?" Alex asked.

"Yes, I think they were hiding this." Sweets said and recalled the man in the apartment. He would need to have the place secured more heavily but it was none of Alex and James' concern so he suggested they go so they could get home after they were done processing. Sweets however knew he had a long night ahead of him.

"Are you sure Dr. Sweets?" Alex asked concerned. "I don't mean to be rude, but you look awful."

"Thanks Alex, I'll be fine. I need to make a couple of calls first."

The two men nodded and left with their evidence. Sweets was anxious to get back to the office and start making some calls in regards to Abby. It was late but if she had an existing health condition, he wanted to find something more and something right away. He placed a call to the person on duty to come and place a new and heavier duty lock on the door. Once that was complete and the scene was secure again Sweets left for the office.

It was dark as he headed back to the office, and Sweets dismissed the notion to look for more information at home. The bureau would have access to better records than anything he could find at home so he would need to head there. He heard a car horn honk very close to his and when he looked up he saw he was drifting into another lane. Sweets corrected the car and suddenly felt extremely warm and realized he was sweating. He rolled down the car window and allowed some of the night's cold air to rush in perking him up but he still felt exhausted.

_There's something about feeding a flu isn't there? _Sweets wondered to himself as he passed a few restaurants. While food wasn't appealing still, he knew he hadn't eaten in the last day or so, running on pure adrenaline from the case, the desire to find answers for Abby that it had barely occurred to him. He grew convinced that if he ate he would feel better and thus he could work longer.

A sandwich shop was open late and the smell of bread invited Sweets in the door. The plump and perky woman behind the counter looked tired but welcomed Sweets in as she masked a concerned look. She offered him anything he wanted and though nothing sounded good he decided that soup and a sandwich would surely cure his flu. The woman made conversation as she worked and Sweets nodded along but few of the words were seeping in. He recognized the words but he couldn't connect their meaning. He soon found himself busy with another task – his body began to list to the right, then left and he found himself unable to control it. He put his hand out to the counter to keep himself from falling down but his hand had an uncontrollable tremble to it so he balled it into a fist so she couldn't see.

The meal neatly packed in a bag Sweets handed her a twenty and told her to keep the change - he felt a quick desire to leave. The florescent lights were giving him a pounding headache and he welcomed the cool night air and the darkness that surrounded him.

The office was dimly lit, save for the sparse supply of energy efficient lights that were sprinkled in the hallway. Sweets was glad it was late as he walked down that hall that felt much longer than it ever had before. By the time he reached the door he felt as though he would completely pass out and practically lunged for his seat and silently begged the pounding headache to stop. With one hand he held his head and with the other he reached for the bag and pulled out the sandwich. His stomach said "no thank you" but he told his mouth to open up and he shoved the sandwich in, sure that it would somehow cure his ailments. He reluctantly chewed as he popped open the lid to the soup, which while it smelled delicious was horribly unappealing.

Sweets felt his cell buzz and saw a text from Ava. He quickly opened it to find a message that Abby was placed on a respirator as her breathing had gotten worse. Sweets guzzled down the soup hoping it would act as a shot of adrenaline in his system to keep him moving. He texted Ava back that he hoped he had a good lead and to keep him informed.

Sweets was waiting impatiently for his computer to start when he looked at his desk. He had a note from Booth, help needed on a case. _Tomorrow _he said to himself. _If I find something on Abby then tomorrow I will help Booth **and** see a doctor, I just have to help Abby first. _The computer slowly turned on and Sweets found his previous searches for the mysterious drugs he now knew the whereabouts of as well as his searches for a missing girl named Abby. Sweets still didn't understand why he had found no matches for a missing girl fitting Abby's description. _Who has their daughter go missing and doesn't file a missing person's report _he wondered to himself. The thought made him sick, but the he realized it was more than the thought making him sick. He turned quickly to grasp the trash can in time to quickly empty the new stomach contents he had just eaten. The food exited with a violent reminder of why his body didn't want it in the first place. As he sat the trash can down he was overtaken with a serious chill that paused only for a second in order to begin a violent coughing spell. For a few seconds Sweets could feel something lodge in his throat and though he knew he wasn't getting sick again he could feel something build in his chest. Sweets knew something was seriously wrong, something he couldn't ignore.

_Tomorrow _he said again _I find something about Abby, and tomorrow I'll go. _Sweets tried to shake off the chill, the growing ache in his chest as he typed in Abby's full name. He waited for a result as he picked up the fundraiser tee and laid it flat to read the name. The search returned reading that there were no results when Sweets realized he had missed nearly every letter in spelling Abby's name. Slowly he highlighted the name and retyped, aware it was taking him a long time to press each key. He hit enter and waited, the letters on the screen that came back to him was a blur that only grew worse. Sweets went to rub his eyes but his hands clenched unwillingly into themselves. With his knuckles he rubbed his head as the chest pain began, a cough that was deep and painful and by the time it stopped Sweets could no longer see the results.


	5. Chapter 5

5.

Booth sipped his coffee as he walked down the hallway. It was early, but he couldn't sleep, something was keeping him up last night an after tossing and turning he decided to get up and go for a run. That left him no less agitated and just plain old cold by the time he returned home to a sleeping family. He let them all sleep as he quietly dressed and headed to the office.

He made the pot of coffee and as he sipped it he thought of how it paled next to Sweets fantastic brew. He was reminded of Sweets and how he hadn't seen the young doctor yesterday after having left him his case. That's when Booth noticed something.

"Can I help you?" He asked.

"Oh, I'm sorry, it's very early but I'm looking for doctor, uh, agent Sweets?" The pretty and delightful woman asked.

"Oh, yeah, I was about to head there myself, but I don't know if he's in yet." Booth said. "I couldn't sleep or I wouldn't be here myself." He added with a smile.

"Me either, we've been working a case, I got the impression he was pulling an all-nighter."

"What case is that?" Booth asked confused.

"I'm sorry, I should have introduced myself, I'm Ava Gardner, I'm the social worker on the case we have working on with a missing little girl." She explained.

"Missing girl?" Booth asked confused. "I thought Sweets was on some case of picking up some meth dealers."

"The people the little girl was with appear to have been dealers. They were found dead at the scene, the little girl was found, by Agent Sweets, in the closet. It appears she was kidnapped and abused."

Booth couldn't begin to hide the shock on his face in regards to the plethora of information he was just handed. His notion of shielding Sweets from his own case of child abuse seemed far from the issue at this point. "Sweets didn't tell me…" Booth said thinking of Sweets silence on the case but then he realized that he hadn't seen Sweets in order to ask him anything about the case.

"How about we go and see if Sweets is in." Booth said turning to quickly walk down the hall. He had a series of questions for the young doctor and he wanted to waste no time in asking them. "The little girl you said she was kidnapped?"

"Yes, Dr. Sweets was searching for her family." Ava explained while trying to keep up with Booth's rapid pace in her heels. "You see the girl was not well when she was found but she had become increasingly worse. Dr. Sweets was working to find the girl's family – find out if there was some pre-existing medical condition or something."

"Right." Booth said trying to let it all sink in as one cup of coffee was not enough for all this data. Instead he rapidly knocked on Sweets door and opened it.

A small ray of sunlight came in the window thru the closed mini blind slats but the office was empty and it looked as though no one had been in.

"That's strange, I thought he said something about working last night." Ava said surprised and perhaps disappointed.

Booth turned back to face her as he shut the door. "If Sweets told you he was working, I'm sure he was. I'll try and call him."

"No, I've tried several times." Ava said though the response gave Booth more worry, _where the hell is he_?

"Well, here's my card." Booth said taking one out of his pocket. "If you need anything let me know and as soon as I see Sweets I'll have him call you."

Ava nodded and headed back to the elevator. Booth was heading to his office when he recalled his case was still on Sweets desk. While he was anxious to find Sweets, he needed to hand his case off to someone else so he could direct all his attention on the wayward doctor.

Booth opened Sweets door again and flipped on a small desk lamp as he passed. He was at Sweet's desk ready to grab the file when he noticed the desk chair was turned towards the wall. Booth's gut was hardly ever wrong and the bad feeling he had was justified as he turned the chair to reveal the missing doctor on the floor.

Booth quickly pulled the chair out of the way and turned on another light so he could see Sweets. For a moment Booth thought Sweets had been attacked since he was crumpled so uncomfortably on the floor. Booth figured Sweets had fallen from his chair and landed on the floor in this uncomfortable position, one he quickly wanted to move him out of. Booth's mind reminded him not to move a person but he couldn't help it, he had to make sure Sweets was okay.

As soon as Booth crouched down to move Sweets he regretted it. The doctor's face was so pale and drawn that he hardly recognized him. Booth tried to get the giant ragdoll that was Sweets into a sitting position but he was so lifeless it was hard to get him to sit up on his own. Even though it had only been a day or so with the lack of food, and slight smell of expelled food were near, Sweets looked far too thin. The signs that something was seriously wrong grew as Booth continued to look the man over.

"Sweets, Sweets buddy, can you hear me?" Booth asked trying to get the man to open his eyes. Once he did Booth's heart constricted. Sweets dark chocolate eyes that usually held the warmth of a lost puppy were filled with only two things, the dark brown orbs and what should have been white were a bloodshot crimson. What scared Booth the most - yes, scared him - was the fact that though the pupils met with Booth's there seemed to be no recognition, no thoughts, no analyzing, no "interesting", there was nothing but dark brown and red.

Booth held Sweets up with one arm as he was sat next to him and reached for his phone. Sweets lunged forward so forcibly that Booth dropped his phone to the floor just to grab Sweets to keep him from slamming his head into the side of the desk. Sweets body was racked with a deep cough, one that increasing so deeply at one point that Booth wondered how Sweets was breathing. His answer soon came that Sweets wasn't and while Booth wanted to call for help he was more concerned with the sound he recognized as Sweets searching for air. It was as though something was lodged in his throat.

"Come on Sweets, cough it out!" Booth demanded. Sweets didn't seem to hear him, he was only moving based on what his body was forcing him to do but Booth continued to encourage him nonetheless. "Come out with it!" Booth ordered again and one more agonizing cough and a thick dark mucus expelled onto the carpet. Sweets body fell backwards though he was still sitting on the ground but Booth caught him before he could hit the ground. He moved closer to prop Sweets against his knee to keep the man in a sitting position and hopefully keep an open airway. He quickly reached for his phone which was nearly out of his grasp but with the help of a stretch he grabbed it without dropping Sweets.

Booth wished someone else was here so he didn't have to call and he could talk to Sweets more, though he knew Sweets couldn't hear him. He wished he had come in earlier for he guessed the psychologist had been here all night. Sweets started to shiver as the dispatcher picked up the line. Booth noticed Sweets hands were balled in tight clawing positions as he pulled them to his chest and began to scratch at it. Booth put a hand over Sweets hand hoping to calm him some as he explained to the operator where he was and that he needed immediate medical attention. He dropped the phone when he realized Sweets was clawing at his chest because he couldn't breathe.

* * *

><p>Brennan's cell phone rang making her roll her eyes and slam down her less than stellar cup of coffee she would remind the assistant about as soon as she found him. She saw Booth's number appear and she was glad he was calling - she had a piece of mind to share with him.<p>

"Ah Booth, so nice of you to call since you ran out this morning leaving me to take care of Christine, it took me forever to get to the office, I'm behind as it is with Cam gone you know…" Her rant began.

"Bones, listen, it's important, it's Sweets…." Booth began.

Brennan interrupted. "Oh good, because Sweets gets a piece of my mind too, he sends remains over here but I have no…"

"Temperance!" Booth shouted causing her to stop abruptly. "I'm on my way to the hospital with Sweets. Bones, it's serious."

Brennan forgot about the coffee, the remains and all else as she raced to the car.

"Well what the hell do you mean you don't know what's wrong with him?" Booth shouted to the doctor. He could see Sweets in the room thru the door, his body moving in an incoherent manner as the nurses tried to control him without restraining him. He seemed to be literally clawing for air.

"What's going on?" Bones demanded as she ran in the door out of breath.

"As I was telling this man here, I don't know." The doctor explained.

Brennan shook her head. "There are only a certain number of reasonable explanations in any medical…"

"I know that." The doctor said with great annoyance in his voice. "That is why this is so frustrating. Your friend has a multitude of conditions, none of which I can explain. His temperature rises to 102 only to fall minutes later to 96. Something is blocking his airway but after I remove the blockage, more accumulates so fast I can't do such an invasive procedure too many times or I'll completely damage his throat. However if I don't he can't breathe. He's dehydrated and yet I can't give him any food or fluids until he stabilizes because he can't keep anything in his system. It's as though his body is rejecting everything we try to do to help. I've got specialists on hand but I can't seem to find an explanation, and neither can they."

"Why are the specialists on hand?" Brennan asked.

"They are helping with a case very similar though not at all this severe, a little girl." The doctor explained.

The comment caught Booth's investigative instincts. "Abby?" He asked.

"Yes, I believe that is her name, how did you know that?" The doctor asked.

"Sweets found her, he was working on her case." Booth explained, the wheels turning in his mind.

"Oh, I did know an agent was working on it but I didn't know it was him." The doctor said in surprise, his own wheels now turning. "These cases must be related though your friend seems to be worse."

"What are you thinking Booth?" Brennan asked now ignoring what to her was a useless doctor.

"Something had to have happened, Sweets and the girl must have been exposed to something though for some reason, it's hit Sweets worse." Booth mulled over in his mind. "We need to find the social worker, Ava something."

"Social worker?" Brennan asked, the notion of social workers didn't sit well with her.

"She knows about the case, what Sweets was working on." Booth said. "Where is the little girl, Abby?" Booth asked the doctor.

"Right down the hall actually." The doctor said motioning.

"Bones..." Booth said searching for a way to ask.

"I'll stay with Sweets." She said and Booth quickly left.

An intense beeping emerged from the room and the pair that was left ran towards it. The nurses shouted stats to the doctor who concurred with the doctors in the room. Brennan wanted to listen but the sight of Sweets up close made her feel dreadful, she didn't like what she was feeling.

"Sweets?" Brennan said in a near whisper, he looked so terrible it was almost as though he wasn't himself, a fact Brennan wished was true. It also made her worry that Sweets wouldn't look at her when she said his name. Instead his head looked around the room, but never focused on anything for more than a second.

"Has he experienced brain damage?" Brennan said then immediately felt her stomach clench. Her mind had asked the question but her heart broke to hear herself say it. While she often discredited Sweets line of work she appreciated his high intelligence and wondered if she could truly hold her own in a chess game with him. She had wanted to try, suddenly she was filled with a concern that she might not get that chance and it made her feel sick.

"We don't know, we haven't been able to test it. We're much too busy trying to stabilize him." The doctor answered quickly.

Brennan was saddened at the idea that the world would lose such a brilliant mind and a kind soul. She put her hand on Sweets cheek and gently moved his face to meet hers. His head still wanted to move but Brennan's calming strokes against his cheek seemed to thwart the continuation. Brennan spoke softly though no one could hear her words over the doctor's voices and medical alarms beeping. Sweets eyes wouldn't meet Brennan's in recognition but as Booth stood in the doorway looking in he knew without hearing what she was saying, it was anything and everything he would say to try and cement Sweets to this world.


	6. Chapter 6

6.

_By the way, if I haven't mentioned it already (I'm so focused on the story)…I don't own Bones! Because if I did, well, most episodes would be like my stories._

* * *

><p>"So what's wrong with him?" Angela demanded in the same tone everyone else had.<p>

"The doctors had little choice but to sedate him to keep him calm." Brennan explained. "He's barely breathing on his own."

"No offense but who are you?" Hodgins asked Ava.

Ava tried to smile but her attention was still on Sweets in the nearby room. "I'm the social worker assigned to Abby's case. Dr. Sweets was very sweet and caring when he found her and kept working very hard on the case."

They realized even a stranger had pegged Sweets so accurately.

"Did you talk to him?" Hodgins asked Booth but Brennan spoke up first.

"I tried for quite some time but he's completely incoherent." Brennan explained. "He did say the name Abby several times."

"The little girl." Booth explained to Angela & Hodgins.

"I would have sworn he said something about a closet." Brennan said but she didn't understand what that meant.

"Dr. Sweets found Abby in a closet." Ava explained.

"Yes, but Sweets kept, it was like was trapped. I don't know, it wasn't all that coherent." Brennan said shaking her head.

"Dr. Sweets knew Abby's condition was serious, he was working on something, he told me last night he thought he was onto something." Ava offered.

"If both of them were in that apartment it could be something in the air." Hodgins said realizing the situation.

Booth took out his phone. "I'm having that apartment quarantined."

"Who else was there besides Sweets, he didn't send those bodies over himself, has anyone else gotten sick?" Angela asked.

"I'll check." Booth said.

Brennan turned to Hodgins. "The remains that were sent to the lab, we need to quarantine those as well in case they are infected."

"I'm on it." Hodgins said making a call.

Booth hung up the phone and turned to the group. "There were two techs at the scene but they are reporting that they feel fine."

"How is that?" Ava asked surprised.

"Abby and Sweets must have come in contact with something unique that they did not. While the substance appears contagious in some form, the patients do not." Brennan said. "We have to find out what that is or they both could die."

"The apartment is going under quarantine anyway until we can find this out." Booth explained. "I'm having all the evidence collected sent over to the Jeffersonian but keep it under quarantine as well until we can figure this out."

Brennan turned to Angela and Hodgins who was rejoining them. "We need to get back to the lab and sort through all of this. There must be a logical explanation to all of this."

"Sweets is an extensive note taker. I'm going back to his office and going over everything he found." Booth said but looked up, anxious at leaving Sweets there alone.

"I'll be here. I believe they are putting him and Abby in the same room so that they can monitor their breathing and keep the air clean. I can let you know if anything comes up." Ava offered.

The group was very grateful to the pretty new stranger.

* * *

><p>By the time Brennan got back to the lab, Dr. Ivan Jacobs, the CDC expert they had worked with before had arrived on the scene.<p>

"How is your friend?" Dr. Jacobs asked.

"He is stable but his condition is very serious." Brennan explained, in thinking of Sweets and how much she cared for him she added, "thank you for asking."

"Of course. Not only am I sure he's a integral part of the team you have here but it's also important to keep me posted on how he is doing so we might be able to incorporate any of his symptoms into our investigation." Jacobs explained.

"Have you seen anything like this before?" Brennan asked as they donned suits to approach the quarantined remains section of the Jeffersonian.

"The problem with many outbreaks or possible outbreaks is that they are so different. This does mimic the spread of something but the fact it is so isolated I doubt it is viral or technically an outbreak."

"How is it that the two people reacted differently?" Brennan asked as they put on their head gear.

"I'm actually quite surprised at how this contaminant is working. Generally I would have suspected the poison would have affected the little girl more heavily based on her size, age and her prolonged exposure to it. That fact leads me to believe that either she grew more used to it in small doses over time or something happened in which your friend encountered a heavier and more concentrated dosage." Jacobs explained.

"Shall we?" Brennan motioned, eager to begin the examination of the remains.

"Of course."

* * *

><p>Booth arrived back at Sweets office and despite the efforts of many passerby's to stop him for questions he continued walking at a power walker pace but without the wobbly power walker stance. Booth didn't really care if they thought of him as rude, he was thinking only of Sweets and what he had gotten into. <em>Open and shut case my ass <em>Booth said to himself while cursing Skinner who assigned the case, the one Booth didn't want. _If I had taken the case would it be me lying there in that hospital bed? Would I have done the same things as Sweets? Would Sweets be trying to figure it out and save me? Of course he would _and with that last thought Booth walked even faster to Sweets office.

Once he got there he opened the door only to find the office was a complete and total mess. Someone had been in that office looking for something in the time that they left this morning with the paramedics. Booth looked around to see if anything was missing but in general the cushions were turned over and the drawers were emptied out. _So much for figuring out what Sweets was working on _Booth mused but paused when he saw a child's shirt on the ground. He picked up the shirt and after some digging found a notebook with the name Abby referenced several times. Booth also decided to grab Sweets computer tower which luckily wasn't large and he unhooked it quickly. If there was more evidence in this pile he wasn't sure where it was. He placed a call to security explaining what he had found and what he took and to call him with any footage of anyone heading to Sweets office that morning. For right now, Booth had other places to go.

As Booth headed to the Jeffersonian his cell rang and he spoke with one of the techs, Alex who informed Booth of both his and James' concern over Sweets cough as the case wore on though Sweets insisted he was fine and that it was only a cold. Alex insisted nor James had any symptoms though when they did arrive to clean the scene both times they were wearing suits and masks when the discovery of meth and later dust was reported at the scene.

"Did Sweets wear any protective gear?" Booth asked though he knew if he himself had been at the scene it was doubtful he would have worn any, not actually coming in contact with the substances.

"No, but he wasn't actively touching the evidence of course." Alex reported.

"His suit looked slightly dusty when I found him this morning, did he mention getting anything on himself?" Booth asked again.

"When we showed up last night he mentioned washing his face, with the way the bodies had crashed down, he may have been under them when they fell." Alex surmised. "I didn't really ask all of what happened - I got a call that more bodies were found, I suited up and came to the location."

Booth knew the men had done their jobs and acted accordingly, he just wished he knew more about what Sweets had been doing and left the conversation with a strong reminder to always advise someone to work with a partner. Booth couldn't help but feel like that should have been him.

* * *

><p>"Hey Angela, I come bearing gifts." Booth said handing over the computer tower to her.<p>

"What's this?" Angela asked taking it.

"I went by Sweets office and picked it up, I was hoping you could see what he's working on." Booth explained. "I had to leave, uh, long story."

"Okay, but is that okay, doesn't he have like patient files on here?" Angela asked with obvious discomfort.

"Yeah, but we're not going to look at those, look, you saw Sweets this morning, we need to figure out what he was working on, anything will help."

"You're right." Angela said hooking it up. "I can't believe we didn't notice anything was wrong, we should have done more…"

"Well it's not like Sweets asked us for help." Booth said a tinch of bitterness in his tone.

"Actually he did, well, he called me, he wanted to know about some chemicals." Angela said as she began to click buttons.

"He did? When? What did he want?" Booth asked and wondered what the chemicals had to do with anything. He quickly recalled dropping off the case file on Sweets the other day and recalled seeing a list of chemicals. He flipped open the notebook he had brought with him and found the list.

"Was it these?" He asked her.

"I don't know, I wasn't able to help." Angela said as Hodgins walked in.

"Hey Ange, hey Booth, I'm receiving the evidence from the case and mixed with the remains is a mystery mix of crap." Hodgins said.

Booth had an idea. "Was it any of these?" Booth asked handing the list to Hodgins.

"A couple of them yeah. I have no idea why they would be in there though." Hodgins admitted.

"Well it looks like Sweets had the same question." Angela said looking at his browsing history. "It looks like he looked up those chemicals along with some other information."

"What did he find?" Booth asked as he and Hodgins leaned in to look over her shoulder.

"I thought you said these people were making meth." Angela said in a confused tone.

"Yeah, is that what this is?" Booth asked.

"No, this stuff is really hard core, this cocktail they made would have made them a lot of money from what I'm seeing here." Angela said.

"So, this case seems to be a bit more than about the two dead bodies." Hodgins said seeing the scope.

Brennan entered the room "The two sets of remains that were brought in today were as the report says Sweets suspected - the elderly couple that lived there. They were murdered, a stab wound to the next and chest on each victim."

"So the younger couple, what murders the older couple, takes on their apartment and turns it into a meth lab?" Angela asked.

"But somewhere along the line they wanted more money and experimented with this substance." Hodgins said.

Booth thought of the ransacked nature of Sweets office. "What about the two original bodies, the young couple?"

"It was reported as a murder-suicide." Brennan said. "That's what the report read."

"I think we need to look at that again." Booth said. "Just a hunch."

"Okay, I'll request the bodies be transferred here." Brennan said. "What about the little girl, Abby?"

"Sweets did some research on her but apparently she was never reported missing by her parents. That's weird." Angela said digging. "It looks like at about midnight last night Sweets was looking up a name, Abbigail Barker."

"What did he find?" Booth asked.

"Nothing, he never clicked on anything from there." Angela said. "Why did he stop?"

"I think that's when he passed out." Booth said softly.

The room got quiet.

"We need to help Sweets." Brennan said. "Not just by finding out what is wrong with him but he wanted to find that little girl her home too."

Booth smiled, though he knew his wife was caring she didn't often speak it out loud and he was proud of her when she did.

"We will Bones." He promised her.

* * *

><p><em>Sorry for the short chapter, I wanted to get one more up before the holidays!<em>


	7. Chapter 7

7.

Booth & Angela sat in her office working on files individually while Brennan went over the bodies of the younger couple, Hodgins looked over the chemicals and mystery mixture, Angela dug thru Sweets computer files while Booth went thru Sweets notes.

"Wow." Booth said impressed.

"What's that for?" Angela asked.

"Sweets had a lot of evidence on this case. He was definitely onto something."

"Well let's hope this all leads to something." Angela said and let out a sigh. "I can't believe that I can't find anything at all on this Abigail Barker."

"Sweets must have thought the same thing, he has notes here wondering why a parent wouldn't have reported their daughter missing." Booth reached in his pocket. "Oh, I forgot I had this."

Booth handed the child's shirt to Angela. "I found it on Sweets desk. It must belong to the little girl, though I'm not sure why it's not bagged as evidence."

"Well it seems like we're all working pretty quick on this one." Angela said reading the shirt which referenced a benefit walk a year earlier, she entered it into the computer.

"What's it for?" Booth asked looking over her shoulder.

"It looks like a little boy, Ethan died when his mom's boyfriend was texting while driving, ran a stop sign. This was a benefit to raise awareness against texting and driving." Angela said reading the information she was finding.

"Hey, are there Facebook photos, social media posts of the event? If the shirt was there, maybe Abby was there, maybe pictures of her with her parents!" Booth said excitedly.

"Good idea Booth." Angela said running a facial recognition.

"I'm betting Sweets thought of the same thing. Hey, where is this at?" Booth asked.

"Looks like it was in Columbia, Maryland." Angela said while still working.

"That could be a possible home for the girl. Can you also run anything you can find with her name there?" Booth asked.

"Yeah." Angela said adding that to her mental searching notes.

"Booth!" Brennan said coming into the room, she obviously had exciting news.

"Any word on the stuff making them sick?" Booth asked anxiously.

"No." Brennan said realizing that was the more important data, but it wasn't what she had found. "I've examined the bodies of the younger couple. I don't believe it was a murder suicide, the male did shoot the female, but bruising around his hands suggests he was most likely forced to pull the trigger. The bruises may have appeared to the overworked FBI coroner from other causes, possibly from meth exposure, but I am certain he did not kill himself of his own will."

"Okay, so who killed them? I'm pretty sure it wasn't Abby." Angela said doubtfully.

"Wait, how did you figure all that out about the bodies- you aren't into flesh and all that." Booth asked.

"No but I am." Cam said smiling as she came into the room.

"Cam, your honeymoon isn't over till next week, why are you back?" Angela asked.

"Hodgins called me about Sweets, we came back right away." Cam explained. "Dr. Vasiri is working with Dr. Jacobs and Hodgins right now on identifying what is making him and the little girl sick."

Booth wanted to say something more about Cam coming back early but it didn't surprise him and it appeared that she didn't want to discuss it.

Cam sensed what Booth was thinking. "Let's work on getting Sweets better, he sounds pretty bad from what I heard." Cam said.

"Yeah, he was." Booth said looking at his phone, but there were no calls from Ava. He wasn't sure if that was good news or bad news. Booth tried to get his mind back on the case. "I uh…oh, so who killed the young couple? The little girl was locked in the closet according to Sweets notes - she didn't report having heard or seen anything."

"It's possible the killer didn't know she was there." Brennan proposed.

"So who is this other person?" Angela asked feeling that they had hit a dead end.

"When I went for Sweets notes his office had been ransacked." Booth said remembering that fact that he hadn't shared with anyone.

"Wait, what?!" Angela asked.

"Yeah, I had the FBI guys looking into it." Booth said. "But I was in a hurry, I picked up the computer, notes and shirt and left."

"So there's another suspect- out there." Brennan said. "And he knows where Sweets office is, so will he be going after Sweets at the hospital?"

Booth didn't say anything because he was already out the door with Brennan on his heels.

* * *

><p>"Hi, I'm here to see Dr. Sweets, I'm with the FBI." The man said to the nurse who pointed him in the direction of the room down the hall. "Thank you." He said heading to the room. He looked inside to see a little girl asleep and the man he saw in the apartment lying restlessly on another bed. The man looked around and walked in the room. He hated the itchy suit he had donned but he knew he wouldn't be detected this way - no one questioned someone who acted confident in a suit.<p>

The phone at the nurses station rang but no one was there to answer it, they had gone on rounds.

Booth hit the end call button with disdain and cursed it. "Dammit, where are they at?" He cursed and called the FBI requesting back up.

"Should we be worried Booth?" Brennan asked nervously from the passenger seat.

"Skinner called me back, they found footage of some guy in a suit traipsing into Sweets office. He didn't leave with anything."

"What does that mean then?" Brennan asked.

"Not a lot, but what bothers me is that when they ran the facial recognition on him they couldn't find anything. If you don't have anything to hide, you have an identity." Booth said finally finding someone to answer his phone call.

* * *

><p>"Dr. Sweets." The man said leaning over Sweets. Sweets head turned towards the blurry man but then quickly away. The man was annoyed that Sweets wasn't listening, what the man didn't understand was that it wasn't that Sweets wasn't listening, it was that Sweets had little grasp on reality or the ability to recognize anyone or anything they were asking.<p>

"Hey man, look at me!" The man said in a harsher tone. Sweets head continued to roll, unable to concentrate on anything. The man angrily grabbed Sweets' throat. "Listen man! I just want to know where you put it. I ain't in the business of killing no feds, a couple of low life dealers who hide their shit from me thinking I'll pay them more, but I ain't getting involved with no Federal Agents. Now, tell me where you took it to!"

Sweets head continued to float though it was restricted from movement in the man's grasp.

"Dammit tell me!" He shouted. "Just tell me and we're done. It ain't in your office, I went thru that damn apartment and I know you found it last night, just tell me where it is! I don't want to kill no fed but it doesn't mean I won't!" The man held his hand tighter around Sweets neck as his breathing slowed, hiccupping and causing the dangerous phlegm that was under control to grow again.

"What are you doing in here!?" Ava shouted as the man backed up. Ava could see the redness of Sweets neck and drew conclusion of the man's intentions. He ran towards her but Ava threw the cup of hot coffee she had just gone for in the man's face. Ava opened the door and called for help but the man recovered as quick as he could and ran out the door.

Ava was about to follow the man when the machine's alarm began to ding alerting her, and the doctors to the dangerous situation that was developing.

* * *

><p>Booth walked in the door, happy that agents were on their way and that he was now on the same floor as Sweets. He wasn't happy however as he approached Sweets room to see several doctors heading into it. Booth broke out in a run but Brennan was faster and reached the room first.<p>

"What's going on here?" Brennan asked trying to squeeze in the door.

"Mam, we need you to back up!" The nurse shouted but Brennan could hear Sweets grasping for air, his body flailing on the bed as it searched for air. Brennan's heart constricted as she saw them force Sweets back on the bed, the doctor's pensive and concerned look as he put a tube down Sweets throat to remove more of the phlegm.

Booth pulled on Brennan's shoulders, silently removing her from the room though Brennan could feel the tremble in his fingertips.

"Thank God you're here." Ava said approaching, her own look of worry embedded on her face.

"What happened? Why didn't you call?!" Booth barked at her, his emptions running faster than his mind.

"Booth!" Brennan chided him but he was still upset.

Ava knew he was upset about his friend and tried to not let it bother her.

"It just happened and I did just try and call you." Ava said. Booth looked at his phone and indeed he had a missed call but he was too busy running down the hall.

"What happened?" Brennan asked in a more even tone.

"I went for a cup of coffee. Everything was fine, well, as fine as it could be. He's been restless, much like you saw him earlier but they had managed to keep any more of the material from developing in his throat so he could breathe evenly. Anyway, I went for coffee and I come back in and a man is trying to strangle him."

"What?!" Booth asked though the fear was in the back of his mind.

"I asked him what he was doing and he ran off." Ava explained. "I was going to go after him but them the alarms started going off and I realized that Dr. Sweets could not breathe and was more concerned about that."

"That's completely understandable." Brennan's tone commended her decision to place Sweets health before all else. "Did you get a good look at the man?"

"Sort of, it happened so fast. I was in shock to see what he was doing. He was in a suit, a black suit, it should be covered in a fair amount of almond mocha coffee right now." She explained and Booth smiled knowing that hot coffee must have burned.

The doctor emerged from the room with a troubled expression.

"How is he doc?" Booth asked.

"We've removed another obstruction and he is breathing again. I had hoped we would not have to do so again but of course it was imperative." The doctor heaved a heavy sigh. "I'm afraid if we do not find anything soon, I'm sorry, but I don't expect for your friend to make it thru the night."

Booth and Brennan felt like a strong tidal wave had hit them. They knew Sweets was bad but the new deadline left their knees weak. The doctor gave them a moment to let the news sink in.

"I'm sorry to have to tell you that. It's important for you to know the reality of his situation. His vitals are exhausted - his fluxuating temperature is wreaking havoc on his body and his inability to accept fluids, even a simple IV have left him with no nourishment. Whatever we try and give him, his body violently rejects it. It would be best to get any family here soon to be with him if possible. I'm sorry."

The doctor walked away and Booth & Brennan looked at each other, knowing Sweets had no family outside his small and imitate circle.

"That's not fair." Ava said softly, seemingly to herself.

"No it's not." Booth echoed and walked briskly into Sweets room. Brennan wasn't sure what Booth's determined pace was indicative of and she quickly caught up.

Booth leaned over Sweets bed but even in the short time that Booth had seem him last, he looked completely different - and utterly worse. His face far paler than Booth could imagine skin turning, his frame seemed tiny and tired though still lanky and listless. Booth put a hand on Sweets shoulder but his head failed turn in recognition of the touch.

"Sweets." Booth said trying to gain his attention but none came. Booth felt a stabbing in his chest, a feeling of failure, a terrible sensation of guilt that he could have done more. He tried again by moving Sweet face to look at his. "Sweets, we're here."

Sweets eyes looked at Booth's but it held a look of confusion. "Sweets, you know it's me right? Booth, and Bones, you know Bones right?" Brennan walked to the other side of the bed and Sweets head turned to her but he only began to shake slightly, the cold taking over once again. Brennan pulled a blanket more closely around him but he only looked at her confused.

"Sweets look you're going to okay." Booth promised though he had nothing to back up his statement. The look Sweets gave him was still one that didn't register what the words Booth said actually meant, but even Booth could tell that Sweets didn't believe him.

"Look Sweets, I've known you a long time, and if there's anything I know about you, you're a fighter. You annoyed your way into our lives and you know what, we can't lose you now. So I need you to fight a little harder."

Sweets looked at Brennan with tired eyes but said nothing and went back to staring at his toes.

"Booth, I think he has been." Brennan's voice began to break. "I don't know…"

"I do." Booth said determined and grabbed Sweets shoulder. "Dammit Sweets you're better than this, this isn't how you go out, in fact you don't go out at all." Brennan was worried he was holding Sweets too tightly. His eyes begged for rest but she feared the only rest ahead was eternal. "Look Sweets, the case, you were so close, tell me, who was that here that hurt you? If I can find him I can find out what's in this stuff. Come on Sweets tell me who he was, what did he want?"

"Booth, I don't think Sweets knows." Brennan warned softly.

"Yes he does, he's okay, he can do this." Booth said but Sweets only continued his same recognition less stare, Booth grew angry. "Dammit Sweets, if you won't do it for yourself do it for Abby!"

The name seemed to spark something in Sweets eye, Brennan swore she saw a glint of recognition. She moved aside so Sweets could see Abby beside him but he hardly looked her way.

"Yeah Sweets, Abby is real sick too." Booth said hoping somehow the words were sinking into Sweets lost mind. "She needs your help Sweets, we're not getting anywhere."

Sweets blinked his eyes seemed alive for a second but they glassed over once more as his breathing grew heavier.

"Booth stop." Brennan said leaning in to look at Sweets more closely. "It's okay Sweets we'll figure it out." She looked back at Booth. "Booth, don't ask more of him, he can't…"

Booth was speechless, while he had never thought of Sweets as a physically strong person, next to (and though he would never say it out loud - equal to) Brennan he was the smartest person he knew. He hadn't thought that asking him to think harder would cause him such physical pain.

"Abby." Sweets whispered. "Abby, help…." Sweets began to cough and Booth felt bad that he had alarmed the young man so much.

Booth looked back at Ava who stood by the door with tears brimming from her cheeks. Though she hardly knew them all she was deeply touched by the scene that unfolded before her of such love and care.

"Are you sure you don't know who he was?" Booth asked her again but Ava only shook her head. Then Booth got an idea. "Did he look like this?" Booth asked pulling the image Skinner had sent him up on his phone.

"Yes!" Ava said unwavering. "Who is he?"

Sweets hand was reaching out and Brennan was trying to calm him. Though Booth felt it was wrong he knew a few seconds of pain might overall save the young doctor's life. He showed the picture to Sweets who looked at it for a second and as his breathing became more labored.

"Apartment." Sweets wheezed before his breathing became so labored he could hardly stay conscious.

"Sweets." Brennan said grasping his hand. "Sweets listen to me breathing. Breathe like me."

"I thought he couldn't hear you." Ava said stepping to the side of the bed now vacated by Booth who was on the phone.

"He's trying to." Brennan said trying to calm Sweets breathing by keeping eye contact with him and make soothing circles on the palm on his hand with her thumb as she held his hand close. The technique seemed to work but Brennan glanced at the clock. It was nearly 9 p.m. and according to the doctor, Sweets would not see sunrise.

* * *

><p><em>Hoping for a few more updates today...<br>_


	8. Chapter 8

8.

"Booth I was just about to call you, I have some info!" Angela said excitedly answering Booth's call.

"Yeah, unfortunately I do too." The heavy concern in Booth's tone reverberated over the line. Before Angela could ask, something she didn't want to do, Booth continued. "The doctor doesn't think Sweets will make it thru the night."

There was silence on the other end of the line. "What?" Angela said in more of a breath than a tone.

"We need to find out what's in his system." Booth sounded determined. "I'm not…it's not… Sweets is going to see the sunrise."

"What can we do?" Angela asked mirroring his resolve.

"We need to find this guy, find out what he was mixing." Booth said.

"I have those ingredients here." Angela reminded him.

"But there's something more to it. The doctors said that's nothing that would cause that. There is something else here."

"And you think finding this guy and beating it out of him will help?" Angela asked sarcastically.

"I need something Angela." Booth's tone reminded her of seriousness of the current situation.

"Well maybe this will help." Angela said recalling what she found earlier. "So I couldn't find an Abigail Barker in the system, much like Sweets couldn't. So I found a girl that looked like her from the fundraiser walk. Child's faces are harder to match on the recognition software but I thought she looked close. Her name is Abigail Werth."

Booth wasn't sure he wanted to continued searching for the little girl's family and if that would in any way lead him to the mystery man. He only had so much time tonight. He knew that Sweets wanted Abby's life before his own and in some way he wanted to honor that.

"Okay Angela, can you get me her parents contact information?" Booth asked jotting down what Angela had told him. Booth wondered what was going on with these parents as he looked back to the two orphans struggling for life in the nearby hospital room.

* * *

><p>Angela's walk from her office to the platform was a long and heavy one knowing the news she had to tell them. Cam, Dr. Jacobs, Arastoo and Hodgins were all working diligently though they were staving off the exhaustion they felt.<p>

"Hey guys." Angela said approaching their table which was full of samples, papers, microscopes and test results.

"Angela, did they get us a new sample of Sweets blood?" Cam asked. "They are supposed to send us samples every hour but I'm not seeing anything."

"No, I think they're pretty busy over there." Angela said fidgeting with her hands. Hodgins knew that fidget well.

"Ange, what's wrong?" He asked causing the others to stop.

Angela cleared her throat several times - Sweets youthful face and bright smile kept appearing in her mind making it all the harder to give them the news.

"Have you guys found anything?" She asked, delaying the news.

"We've isolated the strain that may be causing the temperature fluxuations but I don't have a cure that will stabilize that without altering all the other symptoms more negatively." Dr. Jacobs informed her.

"Ange, what's going on?" Hodgins repeated again.

"Booth called. He uh….Sweets he…. They don't think he's going to make it." Angela said stumbling over her words.

"What do you mean?" Cam asked dropping what she was doing. "Is he, he's still … with us right?"

"Yeah, but he might not make it thru the night." Angela explained concentrating on the facts, trying to remove them from the fact it was someone she knew and had grown to care so much about. "I don't know all the details but…"

"I was afraid this could happen, I just hoped we had more time." Dr. Jacobs said as they all turned to him for an explanation. "His body is shutting down, rejecting anything the doctors will try and give him."

"What can we do?" Cam asked not in desperation but filled with resolve that an answer would be found.

"What we have been." Dr. Jacobs responded going back to work.

"But we're not getting anywhere!" Hodgins complained as the realization Sweets could be gone in a few hours with nothing they had done having helped.

"Maybe we need to step back for a moment." Arastoo suggested feeling the tensions growing in the room.

"We should continue working to save your friend." Dr. Jacobs responded.

"Why all we're getting is more nothing!" Hodgins shouted throwing down his clipboard. Angela walked over to her husband, she knew he was upset, she felt the same way.

"All I'm saying is maybe we are missing something." Arastoo said to Dr. Jacobs. "We have several simple compounds here and none of them are answering our questions. Either something is at play at that we have not detected or we are not looking at it properly."

"You sound like Dr. Brennan." Hodgins said with a smile having calmed down.

"Yeah but not as pretty." Dr. Jacobs added with a smile suggesting he was on board with the new concept. "Where shall we start Dr. Vasiri?"

Arastoo saw all eyes on him and rose to the challenge. "Let's look at the compounds and the materials as they were found and add in the climate that they were stored in."

"Alright, yes, instead of looking at what their properties are individually made of, yes." Dr. Jacobs said.

Angela smiled as they all got back to work.

* * *

><p>Booth hadn't gotten anywhere in trying to locate any of the Werth household so he decided to make the drive to Columbia, Maryland in the hopes that an answer might be there. He left and texted Brennan where he had gone. He didn't want to walk into the room and tell her, he knew he would look at Sweets and he didn't want to the thought in his mind that if he looked at Sweets, it could be the last time he saw him. Booth drove faster.<p>

He pulled up at the address Angela gave him to see a simple colonial style house with one light on in the living room. Booth was happy to see a man was sitting in the living room reading quietly. Booth knocked on the door and noticed the man jumped at the noise. Booth was sure he was alarmed at the late hour of someone coming to the door.

"Who is it?" The man asked from the other side of the door. Booth was surprised he didn't open it at first.

"Special Agent Seeley Booth of the FBI." Booth announced but the door still didn't open.

"What do you want?" The man asked.

Booth was trying not to be annoyed. "I am looking for Chris and Ashley Werth, parents of Abigail Werth."

The door opened quickly to reveal a surprised man's expression staring at him. A woman was quickly running downstairs, nearly tripping on her way. Booth looked at the pair who stared at him wide eyed and worried. The couple who wasn't more than in their early thirties looked much older, thin, tired and worried. Booth knew that look, one of a worried and scared parent, still questions loomed.

"Abby?" The mother whispered.

"She's your daughter?" Booth asked confirming.

"Please come in." The man said practically pulling Booth in the door as he looked around for anyone watching. The behavior wasn't lost on Booth.

"Okay, what's going on here?" Booth asked.

"Is she…is she…" The mother asked, tears brimming in her eyes. Booth didn't have the heart to keep the news from her.

"She's in the hospital." Booth said.

"But she's alive?!" The mother shrieked.

Booth realized their fear was deeper than he had imagined.

"Yes, she is very ill - but she is alive." Boot said trying to keep them from being overjoyed too soon. Booth was filled with a fear he may be reunited them with their child in time to say goodbye. He had the same fear for himself with Sweets. His thoughts left Sweets as the couple embraced each other and tears flowed.

"She's alive!" The father said in surprise.

"Okay, first I'm going to need to know what's going on." Booth said.

The couple looked at each other and nodded in affirmation that they should share and looked back at the agent.

"About six months ago I witnessed a murder." The father, Chris began to explain. "I was set to testify when Abby…" The man's voice began to break but he cleared his throat at the relief of knowing she was alive. "Abby went missing, before we could call the cops we got a call that if I didn't testify she would be returned to us. I agreed and we waited for the case to be dropped. That was three weeks ago that it was officially dropped. Abby wasn't returned to us. I did what was asked of me." The father became emotional as the wife, Ashely wrapped her arms around him.

Booth put the story together, perhaps Abby would have been returned a few weeks ago as promised but the couple was killed. Booth didn't have a photo of the younger couple found at the apartment but he guessed one of them was the one Chris Werth was to testify against since the mystery man at the hospital had no interest nor had mentioned Abby which meant that Booth could figure that out later, right now he had no new lead on the mystery man and thus no idea on how to help Sweets or the little girl. It was almost midnight, Booth knew they may only have a short and precious amount of time with both of their loved ones.

"How about I take you to the hospital to see Abby." Booth said. "I haven't received word that she's gotten any better, but I don't know if she will get much better - I just want to warn you now."

The couple tried to fight back tears but gave a small smile. "I'm just glad to know where she is, it's awful to wonder."

* * *

><p>Moments later the couple was only partly happy to be driving with Booth to the hospital. While the prospect of driving at high speeds with a federal agent sounded like it would get them there quickly it also left them slightly frazzled. The driving only worsened when Booth got a text "get to the hospital ASAP." Booth didn't want to, but he began to mentally write his goodbyes as he bit into his bottom lip.<p>

* * *

><p>When Booth arrived at the hospital he felt the urgency of Abby's parents to get to her though he almost wanted to drag his own feet if it meant saying goodbye to Sweets. As they reached the room, Booth could see it was empty and he wondered why the others had left Sweets alone - it almost angered him some.<p>

Ashely & Chris ran to Abby's side but she was still unconscious. While tears filled their eyes they were partially of joy having seen the little girl they thought was already dead. Booth held a small smile at their happiness as he stood next to Sweets bed. He sat down next to him in a chair and looked at Sweets who he noticed was sleeping and wasn't restless like he was before. Booth's eyes shot to the monitor to see that Sweets did still have a pulse. His breathing was so shallow Booth couldn't tell from just looking at Sweets that he was still alive.

"Is that a friend of yours?" Ashley asked stepping towards Sweets.

Booth looked up at Ashley and nodded.

"I ask because the way you were looking at him, with concern it, it reminded me of the look of a father." Ashely explained. "Please don't take that as a comment about your age or anything…"

Booth shook his head. "No I don't take offense. I guess Sweets isn't that much younger than me, I always think of him as so young, but he's the kind of guy you want to look after, mostly because you know he's always got your back."

"What's wrong with him, is the same as Abby?" Chris asked still holding his daughter's hand. "Did he know Abby or something?"

"He saved her life." Booth said looking back at Sweets.

"Will they be okay?" Ashley asked.

Before Booth could answer the door opened and Brennan came in in a rush.

"Booth, you're back!" She said surprised.

"Hey, Bones. This is Chris & Ashley Werth - Abby's parents."

"Oh, it's nice to meet you." Brennan said halfheartedly, something else was on her mind.

"Bones, I thought someone was going to stay with Sweets, he was here by himself." Booth said in a low voice.

"Yes, I know, I had to leave, Booth, I think we have something." Booth didn't know what Brennan meant at first but he could tell by her expression - one that was trying to hold back a smile that it was something good.

"What do you mean?" Booth asked trying to reserve his hope. "Sweets is…"

"Yes, he's resting. We sedated him so we could administer what we hope is the ample treatment." Brennan explained.

"Will it help Abby too?" Chris asked anxiously.

Brennan turned to face them and spoke with caution.

"We are going to administer it to Dr. Sweets first for two reasons." She explained. "First his illness is worse than your daughter's and his time is running out more quickly. The second reason is we're not entirely sure that it will work." Brennan paused and considered how the phrase the rest of her second explanation. "I've known Dr. Sweets for some time. He cares deeply for your daughter and I know that he would want it tested out on himself before her to make sure it's safe."

"But he only just met her didn't he?" Ashley asked.

"That's Sweets." Booth explained.

"What were they exposed to, I don't understand." Chris asked.

"Yeah Bones, how did you come up with a solution?" Booth asked.

"I didn't, I was here." Brennan said with guilt but Booth gave her a smile that suggested that was the best place for her to be. "Dr. Jacobs, Dr. Soroyan, Dr. Vasiri and Dr. Hodgins all found a solution."

"Hey don't forget me." Angela said walking into the room. "I held the clipboard." Angela walked over to Sweets and put her hand over his. "I hope this works."

"Yes, let me see if they are ready. We have been discussing the proper method with the doctors to administer a series of medications." Brennan said leaving the room.

Booth walked next to Sweets again, across from Angela and wondered if he should rejoice or hold back hope just yet.

"I hope this works." Angela said but continued to look at Sweets. "He's too…"

"He's too everything." Booth said. "So how did you guys figure it out?"

"Everyone had a part." Angela said remembering. "They were so busy looking up so close they missed the whole picture. Arastoo had them step back and they figured it out. There was a lot of ten cent words but what it came down to was a combination of the stuff they were exposed to - the meth they were making in the kitchen and then the new drug they were making along with the decomposition of the bodies of the older couple that were being stored and hidden in the closet above made this weird substance that left them infected."

"Why was Sweets worse?" Booth asked.

"The little girl was getting sprinkled with small doses each time she was locked in the closet…" Angela explained but the parents gasped at what they had heard. Angela turned to Booth. "You didn't tell them what happened?"

"I hadn't had a chance." Booth said with gritted teeth.

Angela shrugged with a 'now you know' shrug and continued. "But she wasn't exposed as heavily which is why she is only partially sick. The doctors think once she was brought here and they began to care for her she got worse because she had acclimated to that environment, her body depended on it. But Sweets on the other hand got a dose of it from the closet for some reason that made him a little sick and then when the bodies and drugs dropped down on him when he found them - it gave him a highly concentrated dose."

Booth still wondered how Sweets got the first dose from the closet but he put the thought aside as the doctors and the rest of the team filed into the small room. The doctor turned to see the now cramped room but advised himself against asking them to leave since after all he might need their help if anything with the drug went wrong.

"Now, this isn't really approved by the hospital." The doctor said hesitating at injecting the drugs.

The group was anxious at getting it started as Sweets vitals continued to teeter.

"Doctor, I'm with the CDC, any reservations can rest on me." Dr. Jacobs said.

The doctor nodded and injected a needle into Sweets arm since an IV could not yet be administered.

Hodgins turned to Jacobs. "Putting yourself on the line aren't you?"

"I'm not worried." Jacobs responded with a smile. "This came from the best and the brightest so it can't go wrong."

The team beamed from his confidence.

_If not I'll be asking you people for a job_ Jacobs thought to himself quietly.

"What now?" Booth asked as the doctor stepped back.

"Like everything else with medicine, we wait." He said and left.

Booth had hoped for a more immediate reaction but realized he wasn't going to get it. Instead he and the others sat down in silence. Booth looked over at Abby who was still doing okay as her parents cuddled close to her, not wanting to let her out of their sight this time. Booth wished Sweets could still have parents, family to do that for him. He looked over at Sweets to see Brennan sitting at his side, his hand in hers as she drew circles on his palm. _I guess he does _Booth said to himself.


	9. Chapter 9

9.

Booth felt something warm on the side of his face and opened his eyes as the sun hit him in retina. He closed them again and moved from their assault on his eyes and rubbed them. He wasn't sure when he had fallen asleep and wondered why his back hurt. He then remembered that he had fallen asleep shortly after everyone left but he and Brennan who was opposite him, her head on the bed, her hand still over Sweets. They hadn't gone far, only the waiting room where seats were far more abundant.

Booth looked at Sweets who was still out causing Booth to sigh heavily. The sunlight meant Sweets had made it to morning but the fact he hadn't moved or improved in his vitals made Booth wonder if this was how Sweets would forever be. _Would Sweets want to be a vegetable? Based on Sweets lack of family he was sure that the uber organized Sweets had a will and such made up that had the answers in it _Booth figured to himself. Still he didn't want to see Sweets like this, not here, not gone. _Whatever happens, I'm not going to forget about him, I'm not leaving him alone here, even if he doesn't know I'm here._

"Booth?" A voice said and Booth looked to Brennan but she was still sound asleep as were Abby and her parents. "Booth?" The whisper came again and Booth looked over at Sweets, the last person he imagined as being awake.

Indeed those dark brown eyes were open partially cracked open. "Booth is that you?" Sweets voice asked though it was faint and rough.

"Yeah buddy, it's me. Bones too." Booth said as he tapped Brennan's arm waking her. Soon she saw what Booth was concentrated on and they both came closer to Sweets face so they could hear him better.

"Sweets, how are you feeling?" Brennan asked.

"Tired. Thirsty." Sweets said. "Why is that?" Sweets began to cough and sit up.

Brennan didn't want to leave so she began to push the nurses button. "Slow down Sweets." Brennan urged him but Booth was just glad the cough was light and not the deep terrible cough he had heard the last time Sweets was awake.

"What's wrong with me?" Sweets asked nervously still trying to sit up.

"Well first of all you don't listen very well." Booth said urging Sweets back towards the bed.

"Abby, where's Abby?!" Sweets said ignoring Booth and sitting up too quickly causing his head to spin. Booth gave up and put extra pillows behind Sweets so he could sit up as he was determined to. Booth imagined Sweets was a slightly spoiled kid by his adopted parents. But like his parents, something about Booth made him want to spoil Sweets too.

Chris & Ashley also woke up and to see the man responsible for their daughter's new found safety was awake.

"She's fine Sweets she's over there, with her parents." Booth assure the increasingly frantic Sweets.

Sweets tried to see but he found himself completely exhausted by just sitting up. Booth could tell how tired Sweets was but it was hard to get him to relax even just slightly.

"Parents?" Sweets asked confused, his voice still strained. "Where have they been?" The tone in his voice was of obvious irritation.

"It's okay Sweets, they didn't abandon her." Booth said trying to calm him. "I can explain it all later but right now you need to relax some."

"But she isn't awake, why isn't she awake?" Booth sighed as he realized Sweets was not going to be calm.

The doctor came in with Dr. Brennan.

"We're very pleased to see you awake Dr. Sweets." The doctor said approaching Sweets to examine him.

"Me? What about Abby?" Sweets demanded though is head was swimming.

"Dr. Sweets I assure you we are still helping her." The doctor informed him.

"It doesn't look like it!" Sweets shouted and Brennan decided it was time to intervene.

"Sweets listen to me." Brennan said stepping in front of the doctor. "You were far worse than Abby so we had to administer the medications to you first."

"No, you should have given Abby…"

"We also did not know if they were going to work." Brennan said interrupting him. "You were our ginnea pig Sweets."

Sweets calmed down considerably.

"Am I okay? I mean, can you give it to her now?" He asked.

"We can as soon as you calm down enough for the doctor to examine you." Booth said with a raised 'told you so' eyebrow.

Sweets relaxed against the pillow, glad to be propped up so he could breathe better. The doctor made quick work of checking the vitals. Sweets kept quiet and was anxious to hear the results - primarily so it could help Abby.

"Okay, I think we are good here." The doctor said standing up. "Dr. Brennan would you like to join me in meeting with your colleagues to concur these are the results we had hoped for?"

"Yes, and if so we will begin to give smaller doses to Abby because of her smaller size and affliction with the infection." Brennan said purely for Sweets benefit.

"Dr. Sweets I will be sending in a nurse to start an IV." The doctor informed him. "We need to get you hydrated very soon. Please don't argue with the nurse."

The pair left the room leaving Sweets to look at Booth. "What did that mean?"

"You're not a very easy patient." Booth said with a sigh.

Sweets grinned. "I've heard that before."

Booth was curious what he meant but he didn't seem to want to elaborate on it so Booth left it.

"I'm just glad you woke up Sweets." Booth said somewhat uneasy but truthfully.

Sweets wasn't sure what to answer so he was glad when Chris came closer.

"Dr. Sweets, I just want to say thank you." Chris said holding out his hand. "Thank you for finding our daughter."

It took most of the little strength Sweets had to raise his hand to shake Chris'. The father quickly realized this and made the handshake quick and Sweets weak hand go.

"I don't know how I can ever repay you." He continued.

"Just take good care of her." Sweets asked.

The conversation ended as the rest of the team arrived in the room with news of relief and good wishes towards Sweets health. Sweets nodded and thanked them but kept a close eye on the doctors administering the drugs to Abby. As the nurse crowded in to place an IV in Sweets arm rest could no longer be abated and he soon drifted off.

* * *

><p>Sweets could feel a poking but this time it wasn't a pain from within, it was small and dull. He slowly opened his eyes to see a pair of bright blue eyes staring back at him just level with the bed.<p>

"Abby!" Sweets said sitting up quickly and regretting it.

"You sleep a lot." Abby announced, the child had no idea how much of the opposite that was. "You're sleeping now and the last time I saw you - you were late because you overslept!"

Sweets only smiled at the girl. "How are you feeling?"

"Better!" Abby shouted. "And guess who came?!"

"Who?" Sweets said playing along though he knew the answer.

"Mommy and Daddy!" The girl smiled from ear to ear. "They said they would never leave me alone." She looked around and they were gone from the room. "Well from anyone but you. They said you are like a guardian angel!"

"Oh I don't know about that." Sweets said trying to sit up but finding it hard.

"Are you still sick?" Abby asked.

"I don't know, I still feel tired for some reason."

"That's because he is still sick." Booth said entering the room in time to hear the conversation. Sweets noticed Booth was wearing a different suit form the last time he saw him and wondered how much time had gone by.

"Hey Booth, what day is it?" Sweets asked but he didn't know what day he last remembered anyway.

"You've been out about a day." Booth said. "Abby here recovers much quicker." He gave the child a smirk and she giggled. "She also didn't have near the system breakdown that you did." Booth said making sure Sweets didn't feel bad and realized how serious his own situation had been.

"Yeah, I still feel …ick." Sweets said.

"Is that a medical term?" Booth asked.

"Where does it hurt?" Abby asked and Sweets pointed to his head. Abby jumped up and gave him a kiss on the temple. "Better?"

"Much better." Sweets assured her and in many ways, it did.

"I'm sure he'll be up for more conversation after he eats something." Booth told her. "I saw them with a cart coming down the hall. I bet there's Jell-O for both of you."

"Oh goody, Jell-O." Sweets said sarcastically.

"You don't like Jell-O?"

"Food should not move on its own accord." Sweets said trying to sit up but still felt tired and exhausted.

"Hey, slow down Sweets." Booth urged him but in a lowered tone.

"I'm fine." Sweets said brushing it off. "I just need to move around." Sweets wanted it to be true but every movement made him dizzy and more tired.

"Sweets." Booth said but saw Abby listening. "Hey Abby, how about you turn on some cartoons for us?"

"I pick?"

"Yeah, whatever you want."

"I hope I can find My Little Pony!"

The child ran to her bed and crawled into it as she ran the remote with great efficiency.

"Sweets, you almost didn't make it." Booth said in a still lowered tone.

"What do you mean?" Sweets asked half listening.

"I mean a few more hours and we'd be planning a funeral or making long term arrangements for your vegetable state."

Sweets eyes shot up to meet Booths.

"I don't understand. I don't remember…coughing, it hurt and then… the office, I was at the office."

"I know, that's where I found you two days ago. You've been out of it since and scaring the hell out of us. Whatever you breathed in, Sweets it took the whole squint squad plus that CDC guy who seems to have a crush on my wife to figure it out - and that was barely in time."

"Oh." Sweets said realizing it.

"Yeah, so why don't you relax."

Sweets leaned back against the pillow and Booth took a seat.

"You're staying?" Sweets asked.

"Yeah I can't miss My Little Pony." Booth said. "This is a great one Rainbow Dash realizes the importance of friends and listening to them. Maybe you should watch and learn something from the pretty pink pony." Booth teased.

"Okay." Sweets said as Abby got out of her bed and ran to sit next to Sweets.

"It's cold over there." She announced.

Sweets knew she was scared.

"It's okay Abby, nothing to be scared of now." Sweets assured her.

"He knows Abby, he's a psychologist." Booth told her.

Sweets looked at Booth. "Are you always this jealous of other men talking to Dr. Brennan?"

"Shut up Sweets."

* * *

><p><em>Exciting conclusion coming soon...<em>


	10. Chapter 10

10.

"And where do you think you're going?" Sweets asked as Abby looked down the hall.

The child turned back and smiled at Sweets. "Just seeing if my folks are here yet!"

Sweets was keeping an eye on the child when her parents weren't around and though it was a hospital he didn't feel it was completely safe.

"Okay, well don't go too far."

"Don't worry, I won't leave without saying goodbye!" Abby said bouncing back towards Sweets. "I get to go home today!"

"Yes, I know." Sweets said as the child climbed up on his lap. Sweets was glad to be wearing semi-normal clothes but missed his nice suits over the sweat pants.

"When do you get to go home?" Abby asked.

"Hopefully soon." Sweets said tired of the two days he had spent here already. The only relief was Abby's company and his friends.

"Is it because you can't breathe right?" Abby asked scared.

"Yes, I hope I didn't scare you last night." Sweets said thinking of the quick attack he had last night when his breathing became erratic. When he felt something was wrong he began to push the alert button to not scare Abby but when help didn't immediately come he tried to stand up and that's when things went black.

"Agent Booth was really worried when he came in." Abby said.

"Oh he was, was he?" Sweets asked though after a moment he realized he wasn't really surprised at all.

"Yeah they said to call him right after they fixed you and you took a nap. He got here quick and he was really worried. He kept telling me not to worry."

"Well, nothing to worry about." Sweets said to the girl hoping it was true. "It's just taking me longer to get better than you. You must have super powers!"

Abby giggled and bopped Sweets on the head.

"What's that for?" He asked.

"That's to make you better!" Abby smiled. "Did it work?"

"I think it might have." Sweets said with a smile and guessed where the child was going with her questions, she would assume Sweets could leave now. "But the doctors will want to make sure - rules and regulations and such."

"Oh I understand." The little girl said sadly.

"But you get to go home with your mommy and daddy." Sweets offered.

"Will you come to my birthday? Like you promised? I haven't had one in forever."

"Me too." Sweets said softly thinking to himself of missed birthdays. "And yes I promise."

"We mean it Dr. Sweets." Abby's mother said coming in the room. "We owe you so much, we do hope you will come."

"Yes, I would like that." Sweets said knowing he would go but soon the days would pass that he would be unneeded in Abby's life and that was okay with him. He knew he was a person that was there when needed, like with the Jeffersonian team.

"Goodbye Sweets!" Abby said giving him one big hug as she prepared to leave with her mom. Soon she was gone and the room felt big and empty.

"I know what you're thinking." Booth's voice said making Sweets jump, he thought he was alone but Booth had been standing just outside the door as the family left.

"Is it when I can get the hell out of here?" Sweets asked rubbing his eyes.

"It could be that too, but see I've worked with you long enough Sweets, see I know what you're thinking - your skrinky-ness has rubbed off on me." Booth said taking a seat next to the bed and flipping on the TV. "You think that little girl will forget you one day. Well she won't. I can promise you that."

Sweets thought of the cop who had saved him from that closet, Sweets had never forgotten him so he knew Booth was right but that wasn't what Sweets had been thinking of.

"And you think you're in people's lives when you're needed." Booth continued to say as he smacked the side of the remote to get it to work. "Damn batteries." He continued to flip. "And maybe, because yeah we need a shrink, a profiler from time to time, but you should know by now Sweets, it's far more than that."

Sweets grinned a small smile and for once in his life had very little to say. He didn't have to worry because soon Brennan appeared at the door with Christine.

"Oh, has Abby gone?" Brennan asked as she walked in. "I thought Christine could keep her company again."

Christine ran and scrambled into Sweets lap who welcomed the girl happily.

"Yeah, she went home." Sweets said slightly sad.

"And when do you get to go home Uncle Sweets?" Christine asked.

"That's another thing." Booth said seemingly trapped in his own thoughts. "How are you Uncle Sweets but half the people here think I'm your dad?"

"That's because of how you care for Sweets." Brennan answered before she realized what she had said - she was so used to stating the obvious.

The room was now filled with an awkward silence. Christine helped them out with that.

"I like you as Uncle Sweets! You're too old to be my brother." Christine announced making them all laugh.

"Well that would be the first time anyone in the Booth family called me too old for anything." Sweets said and they smiled again. "I'll just be Uncle Sweets then your dad can be young still."

"Then you'd be brothers." Christine deduced. "Is that right mommy?"

Brennan wasn't sure how to answer.

"That's right Christine." Booth assured her and Sweets nodded.

"Okay, so when does Uncle Sweets leave here? It smells funny." Christine asked in a way that reflected her mother's way of not veiling her thoughts.

"As soon as he stops scaring daddy by not breathing in the middle of the night." Booth said still unhappily smacking the remote and pressing buttons.

"Yes, Sweets did they discover what is the problem?" Brennan asked taking the remote from Booth.

Sweets adjusted Christine at his side as her weight made it hard to breathe. Brennan noticed out of the corner of her eye but as she moved to pick up Christine, Sweets motioned for her to leave her. For a moment Brennan could not comprehend why someone would be in pain to allow room for another but as a mother she knew the answer and went back to the remote.

"Yeah did they run more tests?" Booth asked sitting back now that he had a channel in mind that he found acceptable. Sweets though was far more interested in the bright pink book Christine had than hockey.

"Yeah, they just said it will take time." Sweets said. "They said if I get thru tonight I can go tomorrow."

"That's good." Brennan said.

"Yeah, I just hope so." Sweets said anxious of another night like last night that would keep him here. Christine was right, it did smell funny and it was boring and he was tired of being here.

"I'm sure it will work out Sweets." Booth said assuring him with a smile as Brennan sat down.

"You guys don't really have to stay here." Sweets said looking at how they had all settled in. "I mean it's not all that exciting."

"If we go home Booth will only call here every half hour to see how you are doing." Brennan reported.

"Bones!" Booth said under his breath.

Sweets ignored it and sat up. "Really guys, you don't have to, it's boring here and there are no comfortable seats.."

"Sweets I think you know by now that we do things for other even if we are in a state of discomfort. We do it because we care."

Sweets sat back and nodded knowing Brennan was referencing he and Christine a moment before.

"Besides, the hospital will be glad that Bones isn't calling on the half hours opposite of what I'm calling." Booth said ratting out Brennan. She gave him a look.

"Well, yes, but I was…" Brennan was trying to justify her reasoning for doing so. "Concerned."

"Thank you Dr. Brennan." Sweets said and went back to coloring with Christine.

Booth & Brennan shared a look and went back to the show.

* * *

><p>"Hey there sleepy head." Booth said as Sweets slowly opened his eyes.<p>

"Hey." Sweets said sitting up. "What's going on?"

"Don't you know? You made it all night long. You get to go home today!" Booth announced. "And I brought you new clothes. Not your suit but jeans have got to be better than another day of sweats."

"Thanks." Sweets said eagerly sitting up. "Really though, I get to leave?" The words sounded too good to be true.

"Yes, home it is." Booth said stepping towards the door so Sweets could change and so Booth could locate the doctor.

Booth came back a few minutes later, ignored the fact Sweets' clothes were a touch too small still but figured the kid would bounce back soon. It had been quite an ordeal. Booth noticed Sweets looked overall put together, including the Converse he was sliding on. In fact, Sweets looked down right determined about something.

"What's on your mind?" Booth asked.

"I don't want to go home." Sweets answered as he tied the laces.

"I thought you were tired of this place." Booth commented.

"Yeah but I want to finish the case I started." Sweets said. "That guy, the drug dealer, is still out there."

"Yeah, and I've got a team on that." Booth assured him.

Sweets sprung up from the bed and Booth realized he wasn't getting thru to the young and recovering man.

"Sweets, you're not one hundred percent." Booth reminded him.

"Booth." Sweets said but couldn't find a good reason to let him do it.

Booth's lips met a firm and grim line as his eyes narrowed.

"Okay, but we do this together." Booth said.

Sweets smiled. "Sure thing brother."

"Alright, let's get the bad guy."


	11. Chapter 11

11.

"So where do we start?" Booth asked as he got behind the driver's seat. He didn't mind deferring to Sweets knowledge on the case and hoped it wasn't too fuzzy. "Wait, Sweets are you sure you're up to this, like your mind I mean. A few days go you were pretty…."

Sweets paused a second before he put on his seat belt. "Sharp as a tac Booth, I'll be fine."

Booth wondered what made Sweets stop and think but he figured that losing a few days like he did may have left him with a weird feeling.

"Do you have the case files?" Sweets asked.

"Oh, uh, yeah." Booth said disembarking from his previous train of thought. "They're at the Jeffersonian actually. We were digging thru t hem while we were figuring out what was wrong with you. By the way, you did a lot of work on the case, we just sewed a little bit of it together."

"I'm glad you found Abby's parents." Sweets said.

"You would have done it, you were close." Booth had been impressed Sweets had done a good job investigating the case but Sweets only nodded like he wasn't convinced. "I wanted to tell you something Sweets, it's been on my mind."

"It's okay Booth, whatever it is, you don't have to…"

"No, it's about the case, the one I was working on before this one. You wanted to help and I…I didn't want you to."

Sweets nodded as he recalled the rushed cup of coffee when what became Abby's case got pushed onto him.

"I didn't want you to because the case…it uh….it….it…." Booth found the words hard to say and he knew Sweets had said he didn't have to but it was bothering him. "The case had to do with a kid, a dead kid. He as abused, pretty badly by his foster dad. I didn't want you to have to….."

"Oh, I understand." Sweets said quietly.

Booth sighed. "My point is Sweets, I thought that case would be way too much for you to bear and I wanted to spare you that so I kept you out of it. But you see Sweets, you dealt with the same type of case – Abby, she had the same thing you did and you helped her – you didn't freak out or anything. You were fine, really good actually."

Sweets digested the words Booth said, it was a lot to take in. "Thanks Booth for telling me, but no worries."

Booth was slightly surprised that Sweets was so accepting, but perhaps it was again a case where he had underestimated Sweets and his incredible fortitude. For a guy that looked like a stiff breeze could blow him over, he had a big heart, a strong mind and a hell of a will power.

"Here we are." Booth said as he pulled into the Jeffersonian.

"They're in Angela's office." Booth said as Brennan approached.

"Booth, what you are doing here with Sweets?" Brennan demanded once Sweets headed towards Angela's office. "I thought you were taking Sweets **home.**"

"Yeah, but he wants to catch the bad guy."

"And Christine wants to eat three pounds of cotton candy but we don't let her!" Brennan tried to control her urge to shout.

"Yeah but she's a toddler, Sweets is a grown up. Look if I don't help him he's going to do it on his own. Besides, he didn't have any breathing problems last night, what's the big deal?"

Brennan turned her head amazed her husband had no idea. "Booth, three days ago he was almost gone. 30 hours ago he couldn't breathe."

Booth understood where she was going with this. "Sweets isn't one hundred percent."

"Right." Brennan relaxed. "Look Booth I trust you but with Sweets – with Sweets you have a blind spot and you- you spoil him."

"I haven't fed Sweets any cotton candy." Booth teased her but Brennan wasn't amused. "I'm on it okay. Obviously I don't want anything to happen to him, we're just going to hang out here and look thru some files."

"Let's go!" Sweets said walking quickly thru the doors.

"What? Wait what?" Booth asked surprised and felt the daggers shooting from Brennan's eyes onto him.

"Yeah, I found the case files, I found what I was looking for." Sweets explained. "When I was interviewing people one of the employers that Carol Livingston worked for fired her because she was stealing chemicals from there."

"Right. So?" Booth asked.

"You said that the guy who broke into my office couldn't be identified on the FBI cameras when they ran a facial recognition software right?" Sweets asked and Booth nodded. "The company Carol Livingston worked for was a plastic surgery clinic."

"She was probably working there as a plant for that drug dealer." Booth said. "He got a face lift so he couldn't be detected."

"Or maybe he had a serious injury due to his nefarious activities." Brennan suggested.

"He would have to have some information from that place on his operation, that's not something you can pay cash for and walk away." Sweets said.

"Okay, well…." Booth looked at Brennan who was eying him with concern. "We'll just go by and talk to the guy, get some info." Brennan's eyes continued to bore into Booth but she relented when Sweets began to catch on.

"Please be careful." She said as she returned to the platform.

Booth turned to Sweets. "We're just going to talk to a guy, what could go wrong?"

The pair left as Angela left her office doorway to give Brennan some papers.

"Was I wrong to be so…" Brennan searched for the word to ask Angela.

"Protective?" Angela finished for her. "Well there's always plenty to worry about when Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum do much of anything. But I think there's reason to worry."

"I'm not sure I understand your mythological references but I feel you are offering evidence to support my concern." Brennan said.

"Yeah, well the whole time Sweets was in my office he was trying to hide the fact that he was trying to catch his breath." Angela said ratting on Sweets in a concerned friend way.

Brennan reached for her phone.

"What are you going to say?" Angela asked. "I ask because I couldn't think of what to tell a grown man myself."

Brennan put the phone away. "Booth and Sweets are both intelligent people, they will be fine."

Angela headed back to her office. "Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum."

* * *

><p>A visit with Carol Livingston's former employer did yield the name of the dealer in question, David Forester. As Sweets and Booth returned to the car Booth made a call into the office to get a last known address on the guy. Booth was so busy making calls he hardly noticed how the busy day was making Sweets tired. Sweets though did everything to hide that he was in fact tired. He wanted to see this case to the end. He felt like if he did see it thru, then it would be over, and maybe if that guy was behind bars he wouldn't have nightmares anymore of him trying to strangle Sweets to death.<p>

Sweets touched his neck at the thought as Booth hung up the phone and he quickly dropped his hand.

"Okay, so we have an address." Booth said putting on his seat belt but remembering what Brennan said about not doing too much. They were about to go beyond questioning now.

"Maybe we can do this tomorrow or something." Booth said.

"Booth he's been out there far too long. He most likely killed the Livingston's and set it up to look like murder, he tried to kill me, he's not a guy that should be out on the streets." Sweets argued. Booth wanted to tell Sweets no and that it was time for him to rest again but the truth was in the few hours Sweets had been on the case, (a case which was rightfully Sweets anyway), they had gotten farther that he had in the days Sweets was recovering.

"Okay, but you're still on medical leave." Booth reminded him. "We're just making inquiries and you're consulting."

"I have no intention of getting us fired Booth. I can wait in the car if you like." Sweets offered. Booth didn't like the idea of leaving Sweets in the car and he didn't like the idea of taking Sweets on a case while he wasn't technically supposed to be working. He liked the idea of Sweets getting back to one hundred percent and him giving Sweets a hard time about anything that came to mind at any given moment. But he knew for some reason that Sweets wanted, no needed, for this case to have closure.

"Alright, let's go."

* * *

><p>"Brenn, we think you should look at this." Angela said approaching her quickly on the platform with her husband in close towing distance.<p>

"What is it?" Brennan asked.

"I was putting the rest of Sweets files away after he left to turn them back over to him when he got back to work and I noticed this analysis Hodgins had run."

"One of the compounds Sweets had originally questioned is Sulfuric Fluoride. When we were trying to figure out what was making Sweets so sick this one stuck out and was one of the markers we treated."

"Okay so what's the problem?" Brennan asked.

"The major distributor of this chemical was being investigated and was shut down for not properly storing this highly volatile powder. One of the reasons Sweets reacted so harshly to it was because it is a pure substance." Hodgins explained.

"And it's one of the reasons that it makes the drug so valuable that it's made from. That's why the guy was so willing to break back into the crime scene and Sweets office to try and find it." Angela added.

"So what's the problem?" Brennan asked.

"The problem is it seems that the warehouse where the last of this stuff was being stored was raided two days ago." Hodgins explained.

"Which is why the guy probably stopped trying to go after Sweets." Brennan deduced.

"Now this guy has a whole lot of volatile chemicals somewhere in the city." Angela explained.

"I'll call Booth." Brennan said taking out her phone.

* * *

><p>"Hey Bones what's up?" Booth asked.<p>

"Booth, this is very important, the chemicals the drug…" Brennan began to say but Booth interrupted her.

"What did you say Bones? You're breaking up."

Brennan repeated but it yielded no result. "Bones I still can't hear you. Look we're going to check out a place this guy is known to be - down around the docks in an old flour processing plant. I'll call you later okay?"

Booth hung up the phone as the others looked at each other in horror.

"Do you think he's found where he's storing it?" Angela asked.

"If so they could be exposed to something serious." Hodgins explained.

"We have to warn them." Brennan said nervously.

"Yeah but we don't have an address." Angela reminded him.

"Let's look for old flour processing plants down at the docks." Hodgins said as they rushed to the computer.

"That's actually quite brilliant." Angela said of the criminal. "If the flour processing machines are still there it would help him to make his drugs."

"Ah, here's one Pfizer Flower at 1032 Pfizer Avenue, just down in the docks, it's been abandoned for years." Hodgins said as Brennan made the call for back up.

"What do you think…" Angela said turning around but saw only herself and Hodgins there. "Where did Brennan go?"

Hodgins looked to see her gone. "I'm guessing 1032 Pfizer Avenue. Come on we'd better tell Cam."

* * *

><p>"Wow, this place looks pretty abandoned." Sweets said reading the sign for the old flour processing plant.<p>

"Fisher?" Booth asked.

"I think it's Pfizer." Sweets corrected.

"Right." Booth said and felt awkward.

"I'll look around outside." Sweets suggested. "That way if anyone asks, I'm just taking a walk around an area that you happen to be near."

"It's flimsy but it'll work." Booth said.

Sweets began to walk around the perimeter avoiding the ruts filled with rain water that were everywhere. The place looked like it was a dead end he still had a slightly bad feeling about it all. He wasn't sure if it was from being tired and filled with worry the last few days, but something seemed off. He opened the door to the old plant, an abandoned building that needed to warrant since it was seized for unpaid taxes.

Sweets looked at the area and could imagine a once thriving mecca here of business now a shell of an era gone by. Sweets was envisioning a group of workers passing by with flour sacks over their shoulders when he heard a shot fired and a metal clang. Forgetting he had no gun he rushed towards the entrance Booth had used but approached with caution.

He slowly entered the room and soon saw Booth's body lying on the floor motionless. Sweets heart began to pound as he tip toed quietly in his soundless Converse. He looked around to see who else was there though the room appeared empty. Too nervous to keep a distance for long he approached Booth while taking his cell out of his pocket to call for help.

"Booth! Booth!" Sweets repeated checking Booth's vitals since he had no glaring wound to suggest he was dead. Booth twitched once and Sweets saw the large round bruise forming around Booth's temple. The operator was coming on the line as Sweets began to inform her that an agent was down.

Sweets stopped talking when a sound made him turn in time to see a figure all too familiar made a rush for him but Sweets moved in time to miss the swinging crowbar at his face. As Sweets recovered from his dodge and roll, the phone dislodged from his hand. He looked for Booth's gun which must have been around there somewhere since the guy was still using his crowbar. Sweets eyes scanned the room quickly thinking it must have slid under a table or something when the guy ran for him again.

"Not you again!" The man shouted again though his voice was muffled since he was speaking from under a filtered face mask and wearing a large bulky contamination suit.

"David Forester?" Sweets asked though his voice didn't sound quite like himself. Sweets began to cough a slightly.

Forester ran towards him again and lunged with the crowbar striking a bag of the chemicals as it flew into the air. Sweets ran again still looking for Booth's gun and finding he could dodge the man in the bulky suit fairly well - it reminded him of running from his foster father when he was a child - he knew he could keep up this game for a little while but not for a long time.

Sweets ran around the tall metal oil drums and could tell some were empty. He pulled some down behind him making it difficult for the man to catch him. The loud clangs echoed in the room as Sweets rounded around back to where Booth was. He had bought time and began to look for the gun though now the fine dust from the chemical was in the air. Sweets began to breathe heavier as he knew he had to find the gun soon. He put himself to the ground to look under the palette of chemicals and finally found the gun. Sweets could feel the fine dust from the opened bags against his face as it had fallen to the floor. It was coming in his lungs. He didn't worry because he figured it wasn't the same combined chemical from before but still he found himself getting tired and dizzy. He reached for the gun and pulled it out and rolled over in time for Forester to arrive over him with crowbar in striking position. Sweets held the gun to Forester who froze as he was at the receiving end of it.

"Drop it." Sweets commanded and Forester began to. That was until he saw Sweets hand begin to waver and his eyes droop. Sweets tried to sit up but his breathing was becoming thin - quickly.

Forester smiled from under his mask. "You gotta wear protective gear around this stuff man." The man warned as he laughed. "I haven't seen anyone get this bad with it, but hey, no big deal to me right?"

Sweets lungs felt like they were shrinking in size as they got smaller and smaller. He tried to inch away from the chemical towards the door while Forester stalked him slowly, enjoying as he moved tried to escape though he knew Sweets wasn't going to last long.

"This is awesome. I don't even have to kill you. Looks like a couple of feds broke in and got caught up in some stuff." Forester leveled his gun at Sweets. "Still, you pissed me off at the hospital."

Forester put his finger over the trigger as his anger grew and Sweets breathing lessened. Sweets breath was almost gone when the gun fired, and Forester fell to the ground. Sweets could feel an arm being put under his as it drug him to the door. A hand put his face in a rain puddle on the ground and washed the fine dust off it. The figure sat him up as an oxygen mask went over his face.

"Sweets!" The voice said. "Oh you can't hear me again can you?"

"Yes." Sweets said breathing the affirmative.

"Oh good. It's not like last time. Where is Booth?"

Sweets motioned to inside as he watched Brennan head back in. The sounds of sirens filled his ears as he pulled the oxygen mask off his face, the filtered oxygen having cleared the airway though he was still dizzy.

"Sir are you..." The medic asked.

"Quick in there." Sweets said pointing to where the other two were.

Sweets closed his eyes, concentrating on the oxygen once again hoping it would help and after a few minutes it did. He felt a hand on his shoulder once again causing his eyes to open once more and see Brennan crouched beside him.

"How's Booth?" Sweets asked pulling the mask off.

"He's fine and you should keep that on." Brennan said.

"No, it's too much." Sweets said discarding it. "Fresh air is better."

Sweets caught his breath and felt better by the time Brennan sat next to him on the ground.

"Booth is having his head looked at, it was very cramped in the ambulance so I came to see how you were. Do you need me to take you to the hospital?" Brennan asked.

"No, no more hospitals." Sweets said adamantly but with a smile. "I'm fine, catching my breath now. How about you or Booth, did you breathe any of it in?"

"The sulfuric fluoride only becomes dangerous over constant inhalation or in your case with an already damaged set of lungs that hasn't healed." Brennan paused. "I was angry with Booth for you going with him - you were not one hundred percent."

Sweets nodded as it felt he was in trouble with "mom."

"Sweets I'm only saying it because it scared me." Brennan clarified.

Sweets smiled. "I just really wanted to find that guy. Thank you Dr. Brennan for saving my life, and Booth's."

"I wanted to ask you about something Sweets, I thought you said you didn't remember anything about what happened when Booth found you or when you were in the hospital, but you remembered when the guy tried to strangle you."

Sweets looked across the distance where Booth was being checked out by paramedics. He was obviously annoyed by having to answer a series of questions while they checked his mental acuity.

Sweets cleared his throat. "When I was a kid I was locked in closets. It was dark, I couldn't see anything. I wanted to be part of the light, to see all the things that were so lonely -and unknown in the dark."

Brennan could tell what Sweets was saying was hard, it was something he wouldn't have said to many people, mostly none outside herself and Booth.

"I could see and hear everything." Sweets admitted. "It was the opposite of being in the dark, everything was in the light, the bright light and it was like I was forced to watch it all though I could do nothing about it. My eyes were stuck, taking it all in though I couldn't move my eyes, nothing to suggest I could hear you. It was horrible to be trapped like that. I felt like I wanted to scream in pain, for help, for anything."

A shiver went over Sweets and Brennan began to let the idea sink in, of being stuck in that sort of existence. She put a hand on Sweets shoulder.

"When it was over I realized everyone assumed that I hadn't heard everything. And knowing how Booth is, some of the things he said, he might be embarrassed so I didn't say otherwise. I'd rather keep it that way."

"I will." Brennan promised. "But you're wrong though, about Booth and the rest of us. We would say those things whether you could hear or not. We're always here Sweets."

Sweets nodded. "In some way I think I knew that. While it felt like hell, everyone gave me a lifeline to know there was still a home, a place for me here."

Brennan helped Sweets to his feet. While she was sure he should be checked out she was also sure that he would get better rest at home -rest that would come more easily now that Forester wasn't a threat.

"The light is better than the dark isn't it?" Brennan asked.

"There's always light in the dark." Sweets answered. "That's our world."


End file.
